EBNY
by DoctorOzpin
Summary: This is OC drabble.
1. Day 1

Ember had been directed to the ledge of a cliff along with all the other first years. Beyond the cliff was a steep drop off into the forest below. From this height all the trees molded together into a single rough of green tops. Ember could see a few clearings amongst the trees but not what was hidden within those clearings.

Looking down the row of students he saw dozens of others. All of whom looked awesome either by their armor or their weapons. He'd heard rumors that they'd be getting teams today. He didn't know how the teams would be selected, but he knew who he wanted on his team. He'd seen the legendary Pyrrha Nikos among the students and knew if he wanted to be one of the top teams he'd have to be on her team. There was also the girl who'd skipped a year or two, and he was interested in seeing her skill.

It all felt surreal to Ember. He'd trained his whole life to get here. His right hand began to tap away on the handle of his rapier which hung loosely on his hip. This happened when he was excited and people constantly mistook it for anxiety. He had no reason to be worried with his weapons so close. His rapier and pistol, respectively named "Patience and Rage," had helped him get to this point and would easily get him past this point. They'd gotten him through enough close spots to comfort him.

Ember had brought his favorite combat gear to the academy. It was a grey under shirt with loose black pants. Over that he wore a red coat trimmed with white that ended just above his knees. The sleeves were short, ending above the elbow. He belted the coat at the waist to avoid it from flowing away too much. He wrapped his hands in gray wrappings up past his elbows. He wore golden, heavy duty boots. His left arm had a spring contraption which extended Patience into his hand and could retract at a moment's notice. On his belt rested the sheath for Rage.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest," Ozpin began.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of "teams." Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today," Glynda added.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon," Ozpin continued. "So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

A girl down the line of students said, "See? I told you…"

"After you've partnered up," Ozpin said over the girl, "make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you will die. You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

"Yeah, um, sir?" A boy said, raising his hand.

"Good!" Ozpin ignored. "Now, take your positions."

Almost immediately the platform beneath Ember launched him into the sky. He soared up, far beyond the reach of the forest below. Behind him he heard the other students getting launched. There were cries of glee and terror as the reality of the first test hit them. Ember was along the lines of the latter, but he wasn't screaming; his fear was silent. Falling was something of which he wasn't too fond. He'd have to use his semblance to land.

He saw the ground rushing towards him. He took a deep breath and allowed his energy to flow all throughout his body. He felt detached from himself as it kicked in. Unfurling along his back were his wings of pure flame. They reached out twice as far as his arms and gleamed with a fiery golden brilliance. He fell past the top of the tallest trees, waiting to beat his wings. He had them beat once, licking the surrounding forest. The wings were strong enough to slow Ember's descent but not hot enough to burn anything around him. His feet touched down and he fell to his knees; control like that was exhausting.

He allowed himself a short breather before getting up. He began to jog through the forest with Rage drawn in his right hand and Patience in his left. It wasn't long before he heard some bushes nearby begin to rustle. He readied his Rapier and angled it towards the noise. It wasn't a Grimm though.

From the bushes exited another student. He was about the same height as Ember. He wore blue chest armor, shoulder guards, and forearm guards. He had dark boots with two golden buckles on the outside. Instead of leg armor he had four short knives, two per leg, strapped to his thighs. He wore a purple cloak trimmed in more blue with cowl pulled over his head. He was leveling a rifle at Ember until he realized Ember wasn't Grimm either.

"First person," a male voice said from under the cowl.

Pulling the cowl back revealed a young man's face. He had short brown hair that complimented his brown eyes. He lowered the rifle and extended his left hand to shake. Ember retracted his pistol to shake the guy's hand.

"I'm Yale," the guy said.

"Ember," Ember replied.

"Let's go," Yale said. "It's not safe here; lots of Grimm."

With that the two continued on. They wandered around for a little while before Ember suggested he climb a tree to investigate. Yale agreed and waited for him to return at its base. Ember sheathed Rage and retracted Patience. His hands became a blur of motion as he grabbed tree limbs to pull himself up. He had chosen a tree that rose a few feet higher than the rest, and he looked out at the rest of the forrest. Ember was able to see a clearing in the distance and decided that was probably the best place to look for the relic.

They made it to the clearing without incident and saw some ruins forming a semi-circle. The ruins had short pillars with chess pieces on them. Ember moved forward towards the pillars and looked over the pieces. Only one had been taken so far, and it was one of the white queens. Distant gunfire told him that he and Yale would get company soon enough.

"Which should we take?" Ember asked.

"Black King," Yale said.

"Any particular reason?"

"You read X-Ray and Vav?" Yale asked.

"What, you want us to be the Mad King?"

"Exactly, he's my favorite."

"Eh, Hilda's cooler."

The two grabbed the Black King piece as they debated the merits of their favorite character. They then turned and re-entered the forest. It was about another ten minutes before they heard some rustling in the forest. This time it was another team that emerged from the bushes. It was two big burly and heavily armored figures. The one on the left carried a massive LMG and the one on the right held a shotgun with a chainsaw incorporated into its body.

The one on the right had on full plate armor, shoulder guards, bracers, knee guards, and boots. His armor was gray with interruptions of black undershirt and pants. It made Ember think of the Atlas Tech robots in appearance, but the color scheme was just different enough to feel unique. His hair was short, messy black. His brown eyes looked over Yale and Ember. He slackened his hold on the shotgun and let it drop to his side.

The other armored figure made his buddy look under armored. He was just as armored as his buddy if not slightly more so and his armor was noticeably thicker. It was a reflective gold color trimmed in white. The face was hidden behind a helmet that appeared to have no visor or means to look out. The head still shifted between Ember and Yale, but unlike their buddy they didn't ease up as much.

"Hey," the guy without a helmet said. "Are the pieces that way?"

"Yeah," Ember replied.

"Cool, thanks," he said.

The person in the helmet nodded and the two teams separated. Ember and Yale continued back to the starting zone. Ember was getting antsy, he wanted to fight. He felt like their score wouldn't be too high if they didn't display their skills. However things just weren't happening. For a forest filled with Grimm it seemed surprisingly empty.

A tree in the distance suddenly caught fire and it was followed by howls of Grimm. The two guys readied their weapons but kept moving. It wasn't long before they were cut off by a pack of Beowolves. Ember counted six initially, but more kept joining. In the confines of the forest the Ember believed he and Yale would be on even footing as the wolves. However, they held superior number which could turn against them really fast.

"More behind us," Yale said.

He was right. Another four had appeared behind them. That made it ten on two, but those odds were still relatively simple. After all, it was only Beowolves.

"I got forward," Ember said.

"I'll take back I guess," Yale affirmed.

With that the two dashed off to their respective fights. Ember covered the distance to the nearest Beowolf in two strides. He thrust his Rapier into the wolf in an instant; he hit the wolf right in the heart. He withdrew and parried the slash the wolf to his left. Crossing his left arm across his chest Ember angled his pistol at incoming wolves. Without looking he fired in the direction of the wolves. Two bullets hit two Beowolves in the head and the third bullet glanced off the third. Ember spun, angling his Rapier to intercept the next slash of the survivor, and he aimed down the sights of his pistol. This shot landed between the eyes of his target.

Ember wasted no time on these victories. He dropped into a deep squat just as a wolf swung where his head used to be. He launched himself into the air attempting a backflip. While air born he fired his pistol at the nearest two wolves that had yet to engage and got both of them in the head. The final wolf was beneath him and leapt after Ember, but he intercepted this wolf with his Rapier, stabbing the wolf right in the heart.

Thirteen seconds had passed. Ember had fired six of the nine shots in his pistol. He looked over to Yale and saw him standing over four dead Beowolves reloading his rifle. Yale nodded that everything was clear. Ember decided to reload his pistol since they had a moment. Yale walked up Ember, looking over the dissolving Grimm corpses.

Gesturing to the bodies, "Nice. Nice, nice."

"Not bad yourself," Ember complimented.

With another small exchange they continued on. They reached the ruins that would take them up to the cliff side. It was an open filed lined with ruins on either side. Beyond that was a narrow bridge leading to a tower. The tower connected to a bridge that leads to the top of the cliff side. Waiting for them in the open area was a pack of Ursa, all of whom looked like they were searching for something. Ember guessed some students had given them the slip here. Ember and Yale paused at the edge of the clearing of the ruins. They were both surveying their options.

"Stealth?" Ember offered.

"I don't think so," Yale replied. "I'm good at sneaking, but… not without cover."

"There's at least twelve Ursa down there," Ember observed. "Not sure about open fight…"

"That's too many for me."

"Same."

"What if you had help?" a voice said behind them.

Yale and Ember turned to see the two armored guys from before. They were both raising their hands as though to wave to show they came in peace.

"You guys strong?" Ember asked.

"Yeah," the one with the helmet said. "Probably stronger than you."

"Mkay," Ember said. He took one last look at the clearing before asking, "Ranged or Close?"

"What?" the guy with black hair asked.

"Actually, first," Ember changed topics, "Names? I'm Ember."

"Yale," Yale said.

"Nick," the helmetless guy said.

"Brass," the guy with the helmet said.

"Nick, you fight close quarters I assume?" Ember asked.

"It's a shotgun and a chainsaw," he replied.

"12 shot?" Ember clarified.

"Yea."

"Brass," Ember shifted, "Close quarters?"

"Mostly," he said, "My Striker can become an Axe if things get too close."

"We don't have to fight them all," Ember decided. "We'll create a four man diamond formation. Yale, you lead and force the Ursa to the sides with your rifle. Brass, Nick, you two will cover the sides and keep the Ursa at a distance. If they get too close you'll be best equipped to handle them. I'll cover us with my pistol. It won't be much against those furs, but it'll slow the chase. Understood?"

"Yea," Nick said.

"Mhm," Brass acknowledged.

"Alright," Yale said.

The four of them began their run across the field. Yale didn't fire until one of the Ursa between them and the tower ruins noticed them. Then he let loose and killed the Ursa with what had to be half his clip. The ones on the side began to flank the formation, but Brass and Nick held them at bay. When the Ursa fell behind the formation, Ember shot at their unarmored joints which slowed them enough for his purposes. They reached the bridge having killed two of the Ursa and the rest chasing them.

The students dashed across the bridge and the Ursa hesitated to follow. Once one began to cross the other Ursa followed. Things turned for the worse as they were about to enter the tower. A King Taijitu slithered its way out and blocked the door. Its other head slithered out a window and bared its fangs at Yale. The formation stopped abruptly.

"Down!" Brass ordered.

The group dropped as Brass swung his Axe overhead. In a single swing he cut one of the heads off the Taijitu. The other head took this moment to strike, but Nick fired his shotgun from the ground. It knocked the attack off its mark and the Taijitu struck near the bridge. Ember prepped his Rapier and thrust through the eye of the Taijitu as it tried to slither back to attack. The body hung limp in the door and window, but it blocked their escape from the Ursa who were advancing across the bridge.

"Brass! Clear the snake," Ember ordered.

"Ok," he replied.

"Yale! Nick! Suppressing fire," Ember ordered.

Ember and Nick began to fire their guns at the advancing Ursa. It wasn't doing enough as their combined fire only killed one of the Ursa too close to their position. Brass had cut the half of the Taijitu in the window which sent it spiraling down into the chasm bellow. He was now pulling the other end out of the tower.

"Back up," Yale said.

Ember and Nick backed away as Yale stepped in front of them. The hair on the back of their necks was on end. Yale had his hands clasped together, and when he separated them lightning arced along them. It danced between his fingertips. Each finger emanated a blue pulse that arced ever so slightly from the main current. He then directed the lightning at the Ursa. The lightning arced from one Ursa to the next, sending the volts through all the Ursa on the bridge. Only the two at the far end remained unharmed by the power.

Yale eventually released the power after about ten seconds and fell to a knee. Nick made sure he didn't fall of the bridge. The Ursa hit weren't so lucky, as their either dead or paralyzed bodies tumbled off the edge of the bridge into the chasm. The surviving Ursa cut their losses and retreated. Brass had finished clearing away the blockade and the four of them continued up the tower.

Waiting for them at the cliff side was another team of two, Glynda, and Ozpin. To the side were some medics who were currently doing nothing as the students present weren't injured. Ozpin smirked when he caught the four of them looking at him. The four of them went further away from the ledge before taking a seat to rest.

"Ember Ohgi, Yale Klevy, Brass Stark, Nickel Gelum," Ozpin said.

It was the ceremony for all those who'd passed the first test. All the students were being put into their team based on which piece they'd retrieved during the exam. Yale found it weird that Ozpin had put such an emphasis on ability to work together but then made teams nearly at random. He could've had it worse though; after the fight against the Ursa and Taijitu he knew this team wasn't useless.

"You four retrieved the Black King pieces," Ozpin continued. "From this day forward, you will be known as Team EBNY. Led by… Ember Ohgi."

Yale didn't mind not being leader. He wasn't keen on leading, but he had always found himself making decisions. In fact, he was sort of glad he wasn't the leader of the team. He just hoped the planning Ember had shown during the test wasn't out of the ordinary for him. Another team was beign called up in the background as Team EBNY went off stage.

"Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie," Ozpin announced. "The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR. Led by… Jaune Arc."

Yale, as well as the rest of the audience, seemed surprised at this announcement. The legendary Pyrrha Nikos was not team leader. Instead it was someone he'd never heard of. This Jaune kid must have incredible skill if he was picked over Pyrrha.


	2. Beacon

Team EBNY had moved into their dorms and begun unpacking. In their rooms awaited their uniforms with a note instructing them to wear it while on campus unless directed otherwise. Ember wasn't too enthused by the uniforms. Then again he'd never been one for the uniform life. He expressed himself heavily through his fashion.

His team had changed into their uniforms before organizing the room. He was still surprised by how tall brass was even without the armor. The guy stood taller than the door and had to crouch to get in and out. Nick was also tall, but only a head or so than Ember. Yale and Ember were by no means short, the two around 5'7", but these two behemoths just towered over them.

"Who wants what bed?" Ember asked.

"Far right," Brass decided, throwing his bag on it.

"Next one over," Nick claimed.

"I'll take middle left," Yale said.

"Alright, I'm fine with far left," Ember said. "We can separate the desks the same way."

"Ok," Brass and Nick said.

The team began unpacking their belongings. Brass had an assortment of different weapon magazines and catalogs that he stuffed under his bed. Nick focused on making sure he had remembered all his gear for his laptop. Yale was placing some notebooks and art gear under his bed. Ember was sorting his books before sliding them under his bed. When all the unpacking was done the room looked organized, for now.

"Alright, we've got class in ten minutes," Ember said. "We should head over."

"Alright," Yale said.

They passed by Team RWBY and JNPR rooms on their way out of the building. The two teams were still unpacking their things. Ember wondered if they had a different schedule than his team. He'd have asked but they were about to be late themselves. They probably knew what time their classes were anyway.

* * *

The day went by in both a flash and seemingly a crawl. To Yale it seemed the day had begun ages ago but he was still surprised to be at dinner already. The menu tonight was Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes. Brass was inhaling his third helping by the time Ember joined them. He insisted on showers before dinner so his hair was still wet and unstyled.

"Did you hear about team RWBY?" Nick began.

"Nah, what happened?" Ember asked.

"They were late to their first class," he said.

"Wasn't JNPR late as well?" Brass asked.

"That's what I heard," Yale added.

"Shit," Ember muttered, "We should've said something when we passed by this morning."

"I thought they knew the time," Brass defended.

"Same," Yale said.

"Also, Weiss got in a fight," Nick continued.

"With who?" Yale and Ember both asked.

"No," Nick began, "as an assignment. The teacher asked someone to show their skill and she volunteered. I heard things got heated between her and their leader during the fight."

"How so?' Ember asked. "Was it a team fight?"

"I heard she cussed the leader out," Nick said. "The leader was being rude so she called her out."

"No," Brass interrupted, "I heard about this. She just told her leader to back off."

"Can't exactly blame her," Yale added. "Her team leader is two years younger. Probably a little immature."

"Is this the Weiss from the Schnee family?" Ember asked.

"Yeah," Yale confirmed.

"She's probably not used to not being in charge," Ember proposed.

"Maybe," Nick said.

The team continued to eat their food silently for a minute. Ember had inhaled his first serving but didn't go for more. Brass finished his third and reached the same conclusion.

"We've got some cool kids in our year," Brass said.

"Yeah," Yale agreed. "We've got Pyrrha Nikos, a Schnee, and a girl who skipped two years."

"Also that Jaune kid," Ember said.

"Who?" Nick asked.

"The leader of JNPR," Ember clarified. "His name is Jaune. Anyone who outranks Pyrrha for leader has to have some interesting skills."

"Your right," Nick realized. "Though, it might've been chance."

"How so?" Ember asked.

"Pyrrha might've held back since it was the first test," Nick pointed out.

"I heard they fought a death stalker," Yale added.

"Yeah, can't hold back against one of those," Ember defended.

"It's not true," a guy said from nearby.

The team traced the voice a table over to another first year. Yale recognized him as Cardin, from team CRDL. He was straddling the bench the table just behind Yale and Ember.

"You really think they'd fight a death stalker in the first exam?" Cardin argued.

"It's what I heard," Yale said.

"It's a rumor," Cardin said. "Probably trying to make themselves seem cooler than they are."

"I don't think Pyrrha needs lies to be cooler," Ember argued.

"Of course not, that's not what I said," Cardin countered.

"Then what did you mean?" Ember asked.

"I'm just saying don't trust everything you hear," he returned. "Pyrrha might not need to lie, but that Jaune kid might. How else could he become leader?"

"Mkay," Ember said. "I don't think I got your name."

"Cardin," he said. "I'm the leader of CRDL. You are?"

"Ember," Ember answered, "leader of team EBNY."

"Nice to meet you," Cardin said. "We should really get to know one another. Us leaders should stick together."

"I'll consider it," Ember replied.

With that the two teams turned back to their meals. Yale was unnerved by the short discussion they'd had with Cardin. Something was telling him he wouldn't get along with Cardin at all. Part of him ignored that believing that Cardin might not be the best first impression guy and should get more time. Yale was the last to finish his dinner, and then the team returned to their room.

* * *

Nick enjoyed hot showers. It didn't matter what kind of day it had been; good or bad a hot shower eased him. That's why he took his showers before bed. The added relaxation made him sleep like a baby. He was always sad when a shower had to be over, but the incentive of sleep won out in the end.

He stepped out into the room to see Brass passed out on his bed. His massive body was sprawled across the bed that barely met his dimensions. The sheet was tossed around and tangled over a portion of his thighs. Despite the appearance, Brass slept with just the smallest amount of noise.

Juxtaposed against this were his other partners. His leader, Ember, wore his wrappings to bed and was tucked in slightly by the covers. Yale was still awake and was sketching in one of his notebooks. He closed the notebook hurriedly when Nick entered and stuffed it under his bed. He forced a half smile before turning over in his bed.

Nick went over to his bed and turned out the light on the night stand. The past two days had been surprisingly intense. Only now in this downtime did he realize just how little he knew about the other guys on his team. He only had the vaguest impressions of their weapons, no idea what Ember or Brass's semblance were, or what their favorite food was. These thoughts worried him a little. When he found out how the teams were going to be picked he worried he'd hate his new team. If he didn't like his team he wasn't sure how long he could last at Beacon.

He decided he'd bring it up over breakfast tomorrow. This brought him a small amount of comfort. Gradually his thoughts shifted away from the worry and onto other things. The matters weren't resolved, but at least they had faded. Nick eventually drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning everyone was at the table eating their breakfast. Ember had some coffee and was quietly sipping it. He had some waffles, to which he'd only slightly touched, while everyone else was enjoying the extent of their breakfast options. Brass had three helpings of eggs, bacon, and pancakes. He'd nearly had to fight another student for the pancakes, but the chefs brought out more to avoid conflict. Nick was eating a bagel sandwich with some eggs and cheese. Yale was eating some pastries the cafeteria had.

"Guys," Nick began. "We don't know each other."

"That's a blunt way of putting it," Ember replied. "Why do you bring it up?"

"We're a team, and… um… we should know more than just one another's names," Nick explained.

Yale agreed. He found it w little off putting how little he knew about everyone at the table. He put his food down in preparation for some sharing.

"What's there to share?" Ember asked.

"I agree with Nick," Yale chimed in. "We should know each other's semblance, weapons, fighting preference. Well… anything that will help us as a team."

"I'll start," Nick said. "Name's Nick."

"I thought it was Nickel," Ember said.

"Call me Nick," Nick insisted. "I call my weapon the 'Problem Solver.' It's a pump-action shotgun with a chainsaw attached. My semblance is wards."

"Wards?" Yale inquired.

"I can create barriers that protect from most forms of attack," Nick explained. "If you didn't catch it, I like fighting up close."

"Noted," Ember said, he'd taken out a small notebook and wrote things down.

"Yale," Yale said. "My weapon is the 'Regime' which is the Rifle. The four knives I carry are called 'The Four Horsemen.' My semblance is lightning. I can produce it but not much else. I'm not really good at maintaining my semblance for long periods of time. I'm fine in all ranges of fighting."

"I'm Brass," Brass began after downing some bacon. "I love my food; keeps me strong. I use a little baby I call 'Striker.' It's an LMG that transforms into a Great Axe. My semblance is earth. I can make pillars and shit like that. I prefer close range fighting."

"Oh ho," Ember began, "that means it's my turn. I'm Ember. I don't have anything too fancy. A pistol I call 'Patience' and a Rapier called 'Rage.' My semblance is Celestial. It's supposed to be a power to let me create astronomical events, but right now I only have control over the fire aspects."

"How many aspects are there?" Yale asked.

"My teacher said Celestial contains, and I quote 'More fucking power than you'd believe,'" Ember explained. "I asked her what she meant but she left it at that. I sort of understand. I mean, I learned to control fire somewhat, she called it solar flame. I also did something she called 'void power.'"

"What' you do?" Brass asked.

"I teleported," Ember said, "about two feet."

"A whole two feet," Brass said sarcastically.

"If you don't mind me asking," Nick ventured, "Why do wear those wraps?"

Ember stopped smiling. His eyes turned down to his coffee. He squirmed for a few seconds and everyone was silent.

"Sorry," Nick began, "I didn't…"

"You fucked up the mood," Brass said.

"No," Ember interrupted. "I wouldn't expect you to know. It's alright, but I'm not comfortable sharing."

"Well," Yale said, "Let's change topics! What classes do we have today?"

"Combat practice and combat theory," Ember said.


	3. Routine

Two months had passed since arriving at Beacon and Team EBNY had settled into somewhat of a routine. Ember had the most predictable of all the routines; he could be found in a specific spot at any given time of day once someone knew him well enough. Yale and Nick were a little more spontaneous, but for the most part they could easily be reached. Brass was the hardest to keep track of with no set intentions until the night before something was due, then he could be found last minute studying or working in the room.

Ember had settled in as a model student. He was early to most classes and had the homework done practically the day it was assigned if not before the class was out. He devoted the weekdays to training and studying when he wasn't in class. He devoted hours to practicing his endurance both physically and in aura use. He wasn't concerned with his physical strength, he believed in outlasting and evading an opponent than beating them right out. As such his training included running, meditating, and maintaining his aura as long as possible. In two months he'd gone from maintaining his aura for ten seconds to thirty, and he could maintain a paced run all day.

As team leader he also studied long and hard on battle and combat theory. He'd read over near every book related to four man combat styles as well as every note he could find on his teams semblances. He'd call the team in for group training at least once a week. Aside from that he left them with only one standing order as leader: "Don't get caught."

Weekends were when he was available to be an actual person. He'd become good friends with Teams CFVY and JNPR. He regularly went for coffee and shopping with Coco. He also spent time with Velvet, Nora, and Ren. His team suspected he was crushing on Pyrrha, but he'd never admit it.

Yale was less regimented than Ember. He was by no means less dedicated to class. He got his work done on time every time and almost always had time to spare. He was passing all his classes and was only struggling in history since all the dates jumbled in his head. His personal training was kept more to Mondays through Thursdays; he enjoyed the weekend too much to train all the time. He focused on aura endurance so he could maintain his lightning longer. He hadn't made much progress in that regard. His other training was weights and dexterity which he'd made leaps and bounds on. Now he could land heavier hits with his knives even faster.

He put most of his friend time to the weekend, but he often hung out and relaxed during the week as well. He'd become friends with CFVY, RWBY and JNPR as well. He trained the most with Nora since her lightning semblance allowed her to take all he could throw at her without flinching. It was mutually beneficial. He was also spending increasing time with Nick during the weekends.

Nick put forth what was needed to pass his classes, but not much beyond that. He spent a lot of his time on his scroll or laptop and often put off his work to the day before. He wasn't failing, in fact he was exceeding in Combat class. His wards gave him everything he needed to get in range to use his weapons, and it ended most sparring matches quickly. Outside of class he didn't train much in the way of aura, but he did put forth effort to get stronger and faster. He believed if he could get in close then the fight was as good as his.

He wasn't the most social butterfly despite all his free time. He hung out with team CFVY and Yang from RWBY. He hadn't really grown on JNPR like the rest of his team. He often tagged along with Yale for events and training.

Brass was becoming the weakest link in EBNY in terms of school. He forgot deadlines often and when he did remember it was the night before. The only reason he was still passing as a whole was his combat ability. His grades in combat class were among the top. He had an overwhelming aura reserve that compensated for his bold combat technique. Outside of class he tended not to study and focused on weights. He also practiced increasing his already extraordinary aura reserve. His tactic was hit harder and last longer; which worked in every one on one fight. One match against Pyrrha nearly ended in his victory, but she played off his confidence at the last minute.

Brass hung out with everyone. He could be found with any of the teams. He even hung out with CRDL from time to time despite how much his team mates had grown to despise team CRDL. His behavior in the team was also creating friction between Ember and himself. He'd already had a relationship with one of the second years, but it ended not long after it started.

Individually the members were growing remarkably. However their team cohesion was still lacking. Ember wasn't good at explaining his strategies which led to confusion when they were executed. Co-operation was also an issue for anyone teaming with Brass. He was always using his blunt force tactics. Only Nick, who also utilized many brute force tactics, had had any success fighting with him. Yale and Ember couldn't work with his methods. In two months the biggest mile marker they'd reached as a team was they no longer hit each other when executing their attacks. While good, it was the bear minimum a team should have.

* * *

"He's ten minutes late," Ember said.

Yale, Ember, and Nick had been waiting for Brass to show up for team practice. He was always late, so they decided to start without him if he was more than ten minutes late. They'd wasted an entire hour waiting for him before he message Nick he wouldn't be coming. They'd booked a training room for the next fifty minutes and planned to use it.

"Then let's just go," Yale said.

"The thing is he's the one who needs these sessions the most," Ember retorted.

"Well…" Nick began, "should we wait?"

"No," Ember caved. "We're not wasting another session."

With that the three of them got down to practice. They'd been working on team attack combos. Not hitting each other was one thing but timing an attack in conjunction with an ally was superior. To do that Ember had them spar for the first half of team sessions. He told them he wanted the flow of their ally to be ingrained in their own movements.

Yale hadn't believed him at first, but it was beginning to show. He'd started to notice the little nuances Ember and Nick made when fighting. Nick tended to pivot on his left foot every time he was about to use his chainsaw. Yale had noticed this when Nick had done a few feints against Ember and then realized he did it every time. He also noticed a small thing when Ember drew his Rapier in to a lunge stance. From this stance he could lunge or fire his pistol, but he'd always take a small breath before firing the pistol.

These small things gave Yale ques in combat as to how to direct his next attacks. He somewhat agreed with Ember that Brass should be at these sessions. During class the team simply couldn't perform as well since he didn't know the ques of combat. Yale nearly wanted to yell at Brass when he'd rush an opponent that someone else was gearing to hit.

"Hold up," Nick said, checking his scroll.

"What's up?" Ember asked.

"Brass won't be coming," Nick reported.

"Why?" Ember managed, irritation growing in his voice.

"He's on a date," Nick said, putting his scroll away.

"Who with?" Yale asked.

"Dunno," Nick said. "Won't last."

"Harsh," Yale said.

"Ugh," Ember groaned, "let's just continue."

* * *

Ember walked around Vale with Coco and Velvet. It was Sunday which was when the three of them went to their favorite coffee shop. Coco had introduced Ember to the shop about a month ago and the Ember couldn't get coffee anywhere else since. He bought the house roast every week to make his weekday brews with.

"I was thinking we could browse the new clothing store opening downtown after coffee" Coco suggested.

"I'll have to pass," Ember said. "I've got an essay due tomorrow and it isn't finished yet."

"Which class?" Velvet asked.

"Professor Oobleck," Ember explained, "he wants an analysis of Chapter Six and its lasting effects to today."

"What's in chapter six?" Velvet asked.

"It's the Faunus War. The whole book is that Faunus War."

"What part specifically?" Velvet insisted.

"Oh," Ember started, "Uh… it's the part about the first cease fire."

Velvet and Ember continued to discuss the section until they arrived at the coffee shop. Velvet went to get their usual table and left Coco to order her tea. Once through the door the Barista, Sapphire, smiled and gave Coco and Ember a friendly wave. She then started working on the usual for Coco: Cappuccino with four shots, light on the milk, and no sweetener.

"What can I get you Ember?" Sapphire asked.

"Regular Coffee, black," Ember ordered.

"Velvet is also here," Coco added.

"I'll get her tea ready," Sapphire replied.

"I'll pay this week," Ember said.

"Alright," Coco said, "It is your turn."

The total came out to about twenty one lien. The coffee was excellent, but Ember wished it wasn't as expensive as it was. He smiled to Sapphire as he took the coffee and tea out to the girls. He was surprised to see Ruby was also sitting at their table. She waved to Ember as he came out and he smiled back.

"Hey Ruby," Ember said.

"Hey Ember," she said back.

"Ruby was just walking by and I invited her to join us," Velvet explained.

"Awesome," Ember said. "I didn't know you drank coffee."

"I love it," Ruby explained, "I put cream and three sugars in. I also love the pastries"

"You should hurry," Coco said, "I think they got a fresh batch of cookies this morning."

"Really?" Ruby asked.

She darted into the store at that. The three of them laughed at Ruby's childish nature. She was so young and innocent and she couldn't even hide it. Ember was half surprised she'd made it into Beacon. He still didn't believe the stories that she'd decapitated a Nevermore during the first exam; it seemed just so out her character. However, she told him that's what happened so he believed it.

"How's second year going?" Ember asked.

"It's just a little more combat practice than last year," Velvet explained. "I'm glad I have my team or my grades wouldn't be as good as they are."

"Don't put yourself down," Coco said, "You can fight pretty well."

"But I have to store my box up to be the most effective," Velvet countered.

"Speaking of," Ember began, "What's in the box?"

"It's – " Velvet began.

"EEE!" Ruby screamed, exiting the shop with a handful of cookies, "They're so good!"

"Did you bring some to share?" Ember joked.

"Nope," Ruby simply replied.

The four of them enjoyed their Brunch and coffee for the next hour. They discussed classes at first but shifted to more interesting topics. As Nick had predicted, Brass's thing with the girl he ditched practice for was already over. Ruby and Ember shared their opinions on their professors with the occasional interjection from Coco that the Professor was actually cool. Then the conversation shifted to the Vytal festival and how they should be getting ready.

"Oh, look at the time," Ember said. "I gotta run."

"Why?" Ruby asked.

"I have to finish the essay for Oobleck," Ember replied.

"We have an essay for Oobleck?" Ruby asked. "When's it due?"

"Tomorrow," Ember said.

"Oh no," Ruby said. "I have to go do that!"


	4. Practice Tournament

"Today we will be assigning teams for next week's tournament," Glynda said. "The tournament will be standard bracket layout. You will be graded on your team cohesion and fighting style. Extra credit will be awarded to those who make quarter finals, semi-finals, finals, and winning. I'll randomly be assigning teams of two. The only rule is that the members can't be from the same four person team."

"What if we can't work with our teammate?" someone asked.

"Then I suggest you learn," Glynda replied. "You won't always find yourself in the field with someone you've trained years with. This tournament will be good practice. Are there any further questions?"

"Can we put Pyrrha on her own team?" one kid jokingly asked.

"Ms. Nikos is a student like any of you and won't be treated special," Glynda said.

Glynda began typing away on her scroll. She was creating the teams according to her rules before officially announcing them. Nick suspected she was also balancing them so Pyrrha was with someone less skilled than her.

"Our first team is Lie Ren and Russel Thrush," Glynda began. "Next we have Cardin Winchester and Brass Stark."

Glynda kept reading names and pairing teams. Nick looked over to see the powerhouse team that was just formed. Those two were both berserkers in terms of fighting. Nick was sure only so many could stand against a combo like that.

"Next we have Yang Xiao Long and Nora Valkyrie," Glynda said.

There was a couple who could handle it. Nick was starting to get interested in the tournament. He wasn't going to win, but these face offs would be spectacular.

"We have Pyrrha Nikos and Nickel Gelum."

Well that was a change. Nick was starting to consider the odds of him winning. He didn't need the extra credit, but with Pyrrha on his team it was suddenly a very likely possibility.

"Jaune Arc and Blake Belladona."

She's going to have to carry that weight was all Nick could think about that pairing.

"Weiss Schnee and Ember Ohgi. Our last team for the tournament will be Ruby Rose and Yale Klevy. Train well with your teammate this week and be prepared next Wednesday."

* * *

One week had passed and today was the tournament. The teams didn't know who their first face-off was going to be until arriving. Yale and Ruby had only been able to sneak in a single joint practice before the tournament. During the practice they got a quick feel for each other's fighting styles and rough plans of how to handle specific teams if they came up as their opponents. Their plan was to work on a switch system since both could handle themselves close and at distance. One person would focus close quarters an opponent while the other covered until that person was out and then they'd swap roles for the other fighter.

Yale sat next to Ruby in the stands of the training room. Next to Ruby was Yang and then Nora. The teams had split up to sit near their partners to watch and probably to not slip any hint of strategy to their opponents. Glynda walked in and the class grew quiet in anticipation of the bracket pairings. They flashed on the big screen behind Glynda.

Yale looked for his pairing, and it was against Yang and Nora. He exhaled deeply realizing they'd be out in the first round. He then looked for the rest of EBNY. Nick and Pyrrha were up against Jaune and Blake in the first round. Brass and Cardin were up against Weiss and Ember in the first round. Yale bet that at least two of his team members were moving on to the next round at minimum.

"Our first fight will be Ms. Xiao Long and Ms. Valkyrie against Mr. Klevy and Ms. Rose," Glynda announced. "Would the combatants enter the ring?"

Yale and Ruby went down to one side of the ring. Yale was thinking over everything and debating how to go about things. Every plan came back as very unlikely of success. He smiled at Ruby despite his own lack of faith, and she returned the smile.

"Let's focus Yang first," Yale suggested.

"Yeah," Ruby agreed. "Just don't hit her too much."

"Why?" Yale asked.

"With each hit she grows stronger," Ruby explained, "and she'll use that power to fight back."

"Oh," Yale managed, "…well…this is looking worse than before."

"Pfft, naw," Ruby argued, "…hehe, yeah."

"Good luck sis," Yang called over.

"This fight will be aura depletion and ring-out," Glynda explained. "Remain within the ring and keep your aura up. Questions?"

Both sides shook their heads.

"At the sound of the buzzer begin," Glynda said.

Yale took out his Regime and looked to Ruby. She nodded and Yale knew the plan was for him to provide support against Yang. It made sense since Ruby knew her sister's fighting style more. The real issue was not getting done in by Nora in the process.

The buzzer sounded and the ring came alive. Ruby and Yang collided in an instant with an intense exchange. Ruby dashed around Yang hitting her in the back with her scythe repeatedly. Yang tried to counter with her bracelets but missed nearly every shot. Yale immediately leveled his gun at the foray but Nora was on him in an instant. She swung her hammer and nearly sent Yale flying. He had to give ground to avoid her attack.

Without cover fire Yang was getting stronger and faster every time Ruby landed a hit. Yale couldn't provide cover with Nora attacking like this. He put Regime back on his back and drew two of his daggers. He changed the plan to stun Nora with his lightning and then provide the cover fire while she recovered. He dashed and dodged her overhead swing over her hammer. He channeled some lightning into his daggers and landed eight solid blows.

He backed up, sheathed the dagger in his off hand, and drew the Regime. He looked to see how much time he'd bought and was terrified. Nora had taken each hit without flinching. She stared back at him as though he'd just powered her up instead of hitting her with a few hundred volts. Before he knew what had happened he was out of the ring and felt an intense pain coming from his stomach. Then it finally clicked that Nora had hit him with her hammer with more force than a hundred Ursa.

"Mr. Klevy is out of the ring and out of aura," Glynda announced.

He heard Ruby squeal a moment later. Then another solid thud resonated in the ring.

"Ms. Rose has been knocked out of the ring," Glynda said. "Ms. Xiao Long and Ms. Valkyrie win the match."

Yale sat up and his insides hurt so much he decided to lay back down. Ruby came over and stood over him. He half smiled and she extended her hand. He took it and she got him to his feet and they made their way back to the stands.

"You ok?" she asked.

"Nora hit me with her hammer," he said.

"Yeah," she replied, "She hit me too."

"How are we alright?" Yale asked.

"I don't know," Ruby said.

"Our next match is Mr. Stark and Mr. Winchester against Mr. Ohgi and Ms. Schnee," Glynda announced.

Yale took his original seat in the front row with Ruby. He wasn't sure who to root for in this fight since one of his team was on both sides. He favored Ember, but wasn't going to root for either since it wouldn't be fair to the other. He found himself on the edge of his seat in anticipation.

"Same rules as last time," Glynda said. "Questions?"

Neither pairing raised any questions.

"At the buzzer the match begins," Glynda said.

Ember prepared his Rapier and Pistol and took what Yale recognized as one of his more defensive stances. Weiss readied her Rapier as well. Yale thought it was funny the only two students with similar weapons were on a team. Brass had his weapon in its LMG form right now and Cardin was hefting his massive mace.

The buzzer sounded and Brass began to fire his LMG. It was a back and forth spray which forced Weiss and Ember to fall back. Cardin swung his mace and exploded the ground between the two other fighters. Once separated Brass and Cardin rushed Weiss. Brass reached her first and had shifted his weapon into its Great Axe form, but Weiss parried each swing and returned a few blows. Ember intercepted Cardin. Their exchange was quick, with Ember landing a few hits, but Cardin knocked him back with a solid swing. Weiss was pushed to the defensive once Cardin reached her.

Weiss used one of her runes to launch over Brass, but he brought a pillar of stone up behind himself. Weiss bounced off the stone back to where she started. Cardin and Brass didn't let up in their assault. Yale noticed the two goliaths timed their attacks near perfect with one another. Ember, off to a side of the skirmish, fired his pistol at the turned back of Cardin, but Brass positioned himself to take the shots instead of Cardin. Yale assumed he was relying on his superior aura reserve.

With the attack doing nothing Ember rushed in to aid Weiss. He landed a substantial hit with his rapier on Brass who swung his axe around in a failed attempt to hit Ember. Weiss used this instant to kite around Cardin and Brass to regroup with Ember. Ember parried a few strikes from Brass and Weiss thrust at Brass when one side was exposed. Cardin stepped in and it became an intense exchange in which the heavy hitters were forcing the rapier duo back. There was little time for a substantial counter attack from the rapier duo.

Weiss was suddenly pulled out of the foray by an unseen force. At first Yale thought she'd used a rune to move to a better position. Then he noticed she was out of the ring, and it was due to Glynda that she had been pulled out.

"Ms. Schnee's aura has dropped in the red and is out of the match," she announced.

Yale checked the monitors for aura readings. Brass and Cardin were sitting at about half their aura each and were far from the red zone. It was impressive considering the damage they'd taken. He was more surprised to see Ember still at about three fourths of his aura. However, now both heavy hitters could focus on him.

Ember was probably aware of this just as much as Yale was. Yale saw him retract his pistol back into its wrist holster. This was going to be fun to watch. When Ember retracted his pistol his fighting style became increasingly on the offensive. He'd only utilized it once during team practice and he was able to match Nick and Yale in a two on one fight.

Brass did an overhead swing of his axe at Ember. Rather than dodge, Embers stepped in closer and the blade swung imperceptibly close to him. He thrust his rapier into Brass's aura. Using his free hand he grabbed the axe as brass lifted it. Ember flung himself into the air above Brass, using the added momentum of the axe being hefted to get extra air, and dealt a series of quick stabs with his rapier at Brass's exposed top. He landed inches from Brass directly behind him. Brass tried to hit him but Ember ducked in opposition of each swing and landed a counter hit with every miss. The proximity made it impossible for Cardin to help and every time Brass tried to gain space Ember pursued.

This tactic lowered Brass's aura slowly but surely. Yale saw Brass look at his scroll and then he swapped his weapon to its LMG form. Ruby gasped at this. Most of the class was on the edge of their seat.

"He can't dodge at that range," Yang said.

"He can't," Yale said, "and he knows that."

Brass leveled the gun and began firing. Ember suddenly ducked forward to avoid the initial burst. He tossed his Rapier and it clattered away. Yale saw Brass and Cardin track the weapon, which was their mistake. Ember planted his hands solidly on the ground and kicked his feet up. In the same motion he wrapped his legs around the LMG. He pushed off and spun around the LMG, tightening his legs as he went. He was now situated atop Brass's gun with his own pistol leveled at Brass's head. He fired three shots, which was all he needed to put Brass in the red for aura.

Ember kicked off Brass as Glynda pulled him from the match. Cardin was on him in an instant, swinging his mace like a bat. Ember had kicked off Brass too hard and was still airborne and as a result he couldn't dodge. He did, however, react to the attack. He crossed his arms in front of his face to minimize the damage of the swing. Cardin triggered an explosion when his weapon made contact with Ember. Ember was sent flying out of the ring and into the far wall. It cracked on impact as Ember's body bounced off it.

An alarm on the screen went off. Yale looked up to see Ember had no aura in reserve. His close quarters brawl with Brass must've cost him too much aura. As a result he couldn't withstand the explosion dealt by Cardin. Yale was nervous for his leader: how much damage had he taken? Was he alright? He couldn't wait for answers, and rushed down to his fallen leader.

"Ember!" Ruby called out.

The class was on their feet. Everyone was looking down into the ring. Glynda had rushed over to Ember along with Yale and Nick. Then Yale saw it, a split second flash. Something had reflected off of Ember's arms. As he got closer Yale realized it was actually Ember's arms that had reflected. The explosion had destroyed the wraps he usually wore around his arms and some of his jacket. Underneath was something Yale hadn't been expecting: scales.

Ember's right arm was covered in deep black scales, but when the light hit them they seemed to glint off any color from blue to yellow to red. Yale felt like he was staring into a rendition of space a film maker would die for. What confused Yale was that the left arm had only a few scales on it. His confusion turned to sadness as he began to see scars and chipped remains of scales; it looked like someone had tried striping the scales from his body.

Ember was unconscious from the impact and had no idea his secret was revealed. Yale wasn't sure how much of the class could see and what they could see. He moved to block the class from seeing and motioned for Nick to help him. Nick understood and positioned his body to block the arms with Yale. Weiss, Cardin, and Brass had also come to check on the fallen student.

"Yes," Glynda said into her scroll, "a medical team. A student was injured during a tournament."

"He's…" Brass hesitated.

"He's a Faunus," Cardin said with some disgust.

"A Reptilian Faunus," Weiss added. "Those ones are really rare, right?"

"Extremely," Glynda said. "Yale, you're on his team. Had he told you?"

"No, he hadn't," Yale replied.

"So it's a secret," Glynda muttered. "You five now share his secret. How you handle it is up to you."


	5. Practice Tournament 2

Ember slowly became aware of his surroundings. His didn't immediately remember what had happened, but it trickled in. He slowly raised his right arm and found it bandaged up as much as he would've wrapped his arms. He realized the wrappings had come undone after Cardin hit him. He sat up and felt a stab of pain shoot up his back.

He looked around the room and saw he was in the nurse's office. He had no idea how long he'd been out, but he hoped it wasn't too long. Sitting in a waiting chair next to his bed was Yale. Yale was reclining in his seat, but sat forward when he realized Ember had woken up.

"How are you feeling?" Yale asked.

"Like I got destroyed," Ember said. "Scale of one to ten, I'd put the pain at a four."

"That's good," Yale said.

There was an awkward silence before Ember asked, "Who all saw?"

Yale bit his lip before saying, "Me, Nick, Brass, Weiss, Glynda, Cardin, and the nurse. Some kids in the crowd might've seen, but I'm not sure."

"ARGH!" Ember complained. "I mean, God. Cardin saw?! He hates Faunus, this will be all over school by tomorrow."

"If you keep yelling you'll give it away," Yale pointed out.

"I take it you're the only one ok with this?" Ember asked.

"No," Yale said. "No one on your team hates you for being a Faunus. At least, I don't and Nick said he doesn't care. Brass was really quiet. Weiss… well… as a Schnee she might not like it."

"Humph," Ember announced, burying his face in his hands. "Why are you the only one here?"

"You've only been out for about twenty minutes," Yale explained. "The others are still fighting in the tournament."

"Oh," Ember said, looking up. "Well... that makes sense. I'm not bed ridden injured, am I?"

"Nope, nurse said you could leave once you woke up."

"Alright, let's go watch the tournament."

The two walked a ways towards class before Yale asked, "You going to try to keep this a secret?"

"I have good reason to hide this," Ember replied.

* * *

Nick looked at the remaining match-ups. It had gotten down to the semi-finals and he was still in it. He and Pyrrha were scheduled to fight Ren and Russel in the next match. The other match-up was Nora and Yang against Brass and Cardin. Either way he and Pyrrha would be facing a team of tanks in the finals.

"Now we have Ms. Nikos and Mr. Gelum against Ren and Mr. Thrush," Glynda announced.

"Go Pyrrha!" came chants from the audience.

Nick knew it was like getting into a free tournament round every time Pyrrha entered the ring. Fighting alongside her was unlike anything he'd ever experienced. Despite the little amounts of practice they'd had together she could pivot and sync in perfect harmony to Nick's movements. It was an unreal experience.

He hefted Problem Solver. Two swings back and forth reminded him to reload the two shotgun cartridges he'd fired last round. Nick glanced across the ring at his opponents. Ren was readying his SMGs that also seemed to be curved blades. Russel was twirling one of his daggers and glaring at Pyrrha. Nick's heart beat with anticipation of the fight.

"Aura and knock out system," Glynda nnounced, "Questions?"

Both sides shook their heads.

"At the buzzer," Glynda said.

"Ren," Pyrrha muttered.

The next instant the buzzer sounded. Both sides dashed towards each other; every fighter this round was close quarters. Ren was directly across from Pyrrha, and he was laying down a barrage of fire as she approached. Her shield was raised to intercept this fire, but stopped her from seeing the incoming attacker fully.

Nick revved the engine of his chainsaw on his Problem Solver. Pyrrha took the cue. She leapt in a sides-stepping flip to her left as Nick ducked low to his right. It was timed perfectly as Pyrrha landed she was poised to deflect Russel's attack. Ren barely dodged the brutal upper cut Nick had tried with his chainsaw. The goal wasn't to deal damage, Pyrrha had told Nick which fighter to distract for the opening of the fight.

Ren gave ground as he dodged Nick's assault with his shotgun. Firing shell after shell left Ren no time to assist his teammate who Pyrrha was fighting in a very one-sided display of experience. Nick fired the last dust shell his shotgun had and revved the chainsaw again. Ren took this instant to fire an SMG at Nick who deflected the bullets with an aura crafted shield.

Nick swung his chainsaw with his free hand at Ren. He blocked the attack and directed the chainsaw towards the ground. Between the two of them Nick knew he was at a disadvantage. Ren was dual wielding weapons capable of deflecting his chainsaw attacks. Nick was also capable of deflecting any bullets Ren would fire with his aura shields. It boiled down to a contest of skill, and Ren had him beat there. Nick had seen Ren fight and recognized his skill at some martial art Nick was unfamiliar with. With weapon and aura balanced the fight became the equivalent of a ninja against a lumberjack.

At least, only for a few more seconds. Ren and Nick exchanged blows for about thirty seconds before Nick heard the good news.

"Russel is unable to keep fighting," Glynda announced.

"You know what that means?" Nick asked.

"Yeah," Ren said, looking past Nick probably to Pyrrha.

Nick kicked Ren away with a solid kick. Pyrrha was on him in an instant. It was an intense, but short lived, exchange with Pyrrha coming out on top. Ren had run out of aura against Pyrrha. Nick had stood by and made sure Ren didn't get too far away from his teammate.

"Ren is unable to continue," Glynda announced. "The winners are Ms. Nikos and Mr. Gelum."

Pyrrha and Nick made their way back up to the stands. Nick stretched his arms trying to emphasize his role in things as everyone congratulated Pyrrha. It was true she'd finished off both fighters, but he'd helped. Nick felt someone clap him on the back; turning he saw Yale.

"Good job," Yale said with a smile.

"Thanks," Nick replied.

"The next match will be Ms. Xiao Long and Ms. Valkyire against Mr. Winchester and Mr. Stark," Glynda announced.

Nick watched the fighters enter the ring. He saw that Brass already had his weapon in its axe mode. He and Cardin were probably planning to end things as quickly as possible. That's how Nick would handle things. The power duo of Yang and Nora wasn't the group you wait out in a fight.

"Aura and Knock out system," GLynda said, "Questions?"

Neither side raised any questions. After this many matches nick wondered why Glynda even asked anymore. Nora looked at Cardin with a weird hostility that unnerved Nick. It felt like she was going to break his legs or something.

At the buzzer the fight took off like a bullet. Brass spun his axe and carved it through the ground. As he raised it the earth followed the end of his axe. He pulled the ground of the arena as though it were a ribbon attached to the end of his axe. Then continued his swing, spinning around, and threw a large disk of ground in a circle around him. Cardin was in on the plan and leapt over the disk. Nora also managed to leap over the disk. Yang took the full brunt of the impact almost intentionally.

Nora leapt at Brass and smashed her hammer at him. Brass sidestepped the swing and rammed his axe blade first into the ground. This seemed to cause a pillar of stone to erupt from the ground and hit Nora in the feet. She bounced off the pillar and swung again at Brass who dodged. Cardin however had moved in on Nora's blind spot. He swung his mace and triggered an explosion against the airborn Nora. The blast sent her out of the ring in an instant.

"Ms. Valkyrie has been knocked out of the ring," Glynda announced.

"Ha!" Cardin yelled.

"Dodge!" Brass yelled.

Nick had seen it too. Yang had gotten up from her earlier hit and her hair had started to glow. She had seen Nora get rung out and pounded her gauntlets together. She rushed at Cardin who had been too busy gloating to dodge the attack. Yang hit him square in the jaw and sent him flying out of the arena like he had Nora.

"Mr. Winchester has been knocked out of the ring," Glynda said.

Yang pivoted from her stance towards Brass. Brass had done a small hope away from Yang and landed with a thud heard in the stands. Yang rushed Brass and punched him in the stomach. He blocked most of the hit with the handle of his axe. To Nick's surprise Brass hadn't moved an inch form the blow. Nick looked closer and saw the earth had wrapped around Brass's legs up to just below his knees.

Yang's surprise gave Brass enough time to bash her across the face with his axe. She blocked the follow up strike, but Brass had taken a good deal of her aura in the two hits he'd landed thus far. The massive hit Yang had managed had taken a good deal of Brass's aura as well, but she couldn't move him if she tried.

The two began to exchange blows one after the other. The block by one person led into the next attack. Each hit was thrown to little avail. At close quarters like this yang held the advantage. However, when Yang had tried to make distance Brass had swapped to his LMG and she moved in close and a blind spot. Each time Brass was ready and had his axe mode handy to continue the brawl.

Nick was confused by what Brass was planning. At this rate he was going to lose. Every time Yang tried something that might work to his benefit he did something to pull her back in to this range. Also with every hit Yang seemed to get stronger and hit Brass back harder. However, Nick had noticed one thing in particular; Yang had stopped throwing left hooks as often. It was a drop that it was noticeable from the stands.

Brass hit Yang once more on her left side. That was how he was doing it. He was testing Yang's power. Each hit made her stronger, but if she got hit in the same spot multiple times it would slow her down. Nick also saw that each time Brass hit there it did less aura damage. Either Yang was protecting there more or he was beginning to do straight damage.

Suddenly Brass was pulled from the fight. He landed outside the ring.

"Mr. Stark's aura has dropped into the red and cannot continue," Glynda said. "Ms. Xiao Long and Ms. Valkyrie win the match."

"So, who are you betting on?" Ember asked Ruby.

"Yang of course," she replied.

"Ruby," Weiss said, "Yang is no match for Pyrrha."

"That's why they have Nora," Ren said from the chairs behind the group.

There was a short break before the final round of the tournament. Everyone had shifted away from their tournament partner back to the groups they usually sat with. The final round was about to start and everyone was placing their final bets on the winner.

"Nick will also be down there," Yale added.

"Please," Weiss said, "his style is too reckless. He's only gotten this far because he was on Pyrrha's team."

"Oi," Ember returned. "His style is just fine. Besides, Yang literally gets herself beaten up to get stronger."

"Yeah," Yale added, "Nick has to be offensive to make use of his weapons effectively."

"Sorry guys," Weiss said, "but Pyrrha has this one."

"I wouldn't sell Yang and Nora short," Blake said. "It'll be close if anything."

"What do you think Jaune?" Ruby asked.

"I dunno," Jaune said, "both have my teammates so I don't wanna say."

"We will begin the final match in a moment," Glynda announced. "Same rules as always, ring out and aura. Questions?"

Neither side raised a question.

"At the buzzer," Glynda said before leaving the ring.

Yale scooted closer to see. The buzzer sounded and it began. Nora and Yang began firing their weapons at the other side of the ring. Nora's back and forth motion indicated she was trying to funnel the opponents down a set path. That path was the target for Yang's shotgun assault. A cloud of smoke rose quickly from all the firepower. Yale couldn't see through the smoke. Yang and Nora stood at the edge of the smoke before the two of them darted in. It wasn't to create a funnel but rather a large smoke screen.

Unseen fighting went on within the smoke, but looking at the monitor it appeared very little damage was being done. When it cleared Yang and Nora were raining attacks near Pyrrha and Nick, forcing them to give ground to the edge of the ring. Pyrrha ducked to dodge a blast form Yang, placing her shield overhead. Nick appeared behind Pyrrha and swung his revved chainsaw at the shield, sending sparks at Yangs eyes. Using this moment Nick vaulted over Pyrrha's shield and rammed into Yang. He used his ward as blocker as he rushed Yang across the ring. Yale knew from experience it wasn't easy to grab the wards, so it was proving an effective pushing tool. He managed to push Yang to the other end of the ring before she planted her feet and pushed back.

He then released his ward and tried to do a powerful kick to her abdomen. She grabbed his foot and managed to flip him into the air. Yang fired a volley of shots at the airborne Nick, but he used his wards to intercept them. He landed in a tucked position and tried an upper cut with his chainsaw. Yang dodged and the two began exchanging shotgun fire.

Yale looked over to Pyrrha to see her dancing around Nora's hammer. Even if it was Pyrrha, one hit from that thing could send her flying out of the arena. It was a smart move for Nick and Pyrrha to separate their opponents like this. Pyrrha could dodge any attack and whittle down Nora's aura to the red. Nick was also capable of defending from Yang's berserking with his wards. Yale assumed their plan was probably for Nick to hold Yang long enough for Pyrrha to finish off Nora.

"Yang!" Nora called out.

Nora spun and fired a rouge grenade in Yang's direction. Yale saw Yang dart over to where it would land. She took the hit head on and it dropped her aura nearly to the read. A couple hits and she'd be out. However, Yang rushed at Nick who instinctively raised a ward. Yang hit it with her full strength and shattered the ward. The remaining force of her punch hit Nick right in the stomach. Not a second later he was pulled from the fight for critical aura levels.

Yang immediately rushed Pyrrha. Pyrrha didn't fall for the trick and dodged Yang's attack. Two hits from Pyrrha's Xiphos sword and Yang was out. Then it became a waiting game as Pyrrha slowly, but surely dodged Nora and got her aura into the red.

"Ms. Valkyrie, is unable to continue," Glynda announced. "The winners of the Tournament are Ms. Nikos and Mr. Gelum."


	6. Reptilian

It was Sunday and Ember was out getting coffee with Coco. Velvet was going to meet them there and Yale said he might stop by and try out their brew. It had been three days since the tournament. Cardin had spread his secret like wildfire with everyone at Beacon. Ember kept his arms wrapped though. This led to rumors about the truth of what Cardin said and the story got twisted each time Ember heard it. He was the focus of each story but what he hid under the wraps changed each time. Ember didn't want this kind of attention and certainly not for this reason.

"Hey," Coco said as they rounded the last corner to the shop, "How long were you gonna keep those arms of yours a secret?"

"You know too?" Ember asked.

"M, everyone knows," Coco said. "A Reptilian Faunus is revealed in the middle of a combat tournament, did you think that would stay within the class? Even if Cardin wasn't an ass it would've gotten out."

"I never wanted this," Ember muttered.

"I don't think anyone wants to be a Faunus," Coco said. "Not when the world is gonna treat them like shit. You got to accept you're a Faunus someday."

"I accept that I'm…" Ember paused," … that I'm a Faunus."

"Doesn't sound like it," Coco observed. "Let's get some coffee."

Sapphire was behind the counter. She smiled and waved to Coco when she entered. Her smile hesitated when she looked at Ember. It was a split second hesitation that showed signs of concern.

"Hey Ember," Sapphire said. "I heard you got hurt in a tournament this week. I heard it tore the skin right off your arm. Are you alright?"

"Hea," Ember laughed, "I'm fine. I got hurt but nothing that bad. What other rumors have you heard?"

"There's a mix of them I've been hearing from my classmates," she continued, nodding to Coco that she was getting her usual ready. "I heard things from you broke an arm to you broke the other guys arm. Also some rumors about what's under those wraps of yours."

"Oh," Ember said, somewhat quieter. "Like what?"

"One person said you had robot arms, like the Atlas guards," Sapphire elaborated. "My best friend said you were a Faunus and you had bird feathers under the wraps."

"Do you believe them?" Coco asked.

"I don't know," she answered, "my school isn't the most friendly to Faunus. Those who call you a Faunus also say you beat the kid up until someone stopped you. That doesn't sound like you so I don't really trust any of the rumors."

Sapphire finished making the coffees and handed them over. It was Coco's turn to pay and remembered to get Velvet's tea going for her. Coco said she was heading outside and asked Ember to bring Velvet's tea when he came.

"So," Sapphire began, "what did happen?"

"Hm?" Ember asked.

"What actually happened in the tournament?" she asked again. "I think only you will tell me honestly what happened. I want to know. The kids at my school keep making you out to be the bad guy."

"it was a sanctioned fight with teacher supervision," Ember began, "so any rumors that it was a backyard brawl are fake. It was me and Weiss against Cardin – "

"He's your teammate right?" Sapphire asked.

"Cardin? God no! Thankfully," Ember explained. "No, Brass is my teammate and he was fighting with Cardin."

"Ok."

"So, two v two. Weiss went down first. I then played an all or nothing fighting style of mine. It's very aggressive and I used it to take Brass out of the fight."

"He's ok, right?"

"Yeah," Ember clarified, "We get pulled out when the teacher deems us unfit to continue. No one gets hurt in these fight."

"Except you?"

"Eh… yeah… I guess you're right," Ember agreed. "So, I took out Brass, but Cardin hit me while I was unprepared. He can make big explosions with his weapon, so when he hit me it triggered an explosion. That sent me out of the ring into a wall."

"Wow! You look fine though."

"I was only slightly hurt, and it was three days ago."

"Slightly hurt?"

"I'm tougher than I look."

"You don't look all too tough," Sapphire joked. "What about the wraps, did they come off?"

Ember frowned when he answered, "I don't want to talk about that."

"Oh," Sapphire said, getting concerned. "Sorry, I didn't mean to – "

"No, no, it's ok," Ember said. "Just… It's nothing bad like people may say. I wear these because… bad memories."

"Oh, ok," Sapphire said. "That's Velvet. I shouldn't keep you, and her tea is ready."

"Huh, oh yeah," Ember realized. "Thanks Sapphire."

Ember went outside with Velvet's tea just as she reached the table. She gave Ember a big smile. He passed her the tea and took a seat himself. Coco was looking between the two of them. Ember wondered what she was thinking because he sensed she might be implying something.

"Ember," Velvet asked, "are you really a Faunus?"

Ember bashed his head against the table. Was that all he was now? Had he become the subject of "what are you?" It wasn't like there weren't other Faunus at Beacon. Hell, there were probably a dozen other Faunus in hiding at Beacon!

"Come on Ember," Coco urged. "Just tell her. She wouldn't believe it when I told her."

"Yeah," Ember said, face still on the table, "I'm a Faunus."

"Coco," Velvet suddenly burst, "You said he was ok with everyone knowing."

"I assumed he was," Coco replied.

"Coco!" Ember said, raising his head. "Who'd you tell?!"

"The team," she said innocently, "and some other second years."

"Ugh!" Ember said, returning his head to the table.

"Why are you so upset?" Velvet asked.

"I keep my secret a secret for a reason!" Ember replied exasperated. "Bad memories. I haven't slept well since the tournament!"

"You didn't tell me that," Yale said.

Ember looked up to see Yale standing next to the table. Next to Yale was Brass. Ember was curious why Brass was here, but more confused by his casual attire. He wore black slacks with silk suspenders over a white dress shirt. It seemed so out of place for the armor wearing LMG toting warrior he usually looked like.

"Brass?" Ember asked.

"No," Yale interjected. "He can say his thing once you explain the sleeping. We can't have our leader working on half power."

"Don't worry Yale," Ember soothed. "This happens. I'll be fine in a week or two. Just… I'll have some nightmares for a while."

"Of what?" Yale pressured.

"I don't want to talk about it," Ember replied firmly.

Yale tried staring him down before relenting and saying, "Alright. So long as you'll get better. Despite what you might believe your team cares about your wellbeing. Speaking of, Brass…"

"Yeah," Brass said.

"Oh yeah," Ember said, turning to Brass. "I don't really see you much outside of class. What's up?"

"I kicked Cardin in the dick," he stated bluntly.

Velvet choked on her tea and Coco burst out laughing. Ember just looked at him dumbfounded.

"Did he squeal?" Coco asked between laughs.

"That was the important thing you had to tell him?" Yale asked.

"No," Coco said, "I bet his voice was so high you couldn't hear it."

"Um… thanks, but why?" Ember replied.

"I don't work well in most teams," Brass said. "But… if Cardin is going to fuck with my team I'm going to fuck him back."

"Uh…" Ember hesitated.

"That came out wrong," Brass realized. "I kicked him in the dick because he spread your secret. So… uh… you're welcome."

With that Brass turned to go.

"Thank you Brass," Ember called after him.

"Hm," he grunted back.

Coco continued to laugh for the next couple minutes. It brought her to tears. Yale had given up and gone inside to get himself some coffee. Velvet was getting increasingly frustrated with Coco's laughter.

"Coco!" Velvet burst.

"Sorry," she managed, calming down a bit.

"Why are you so happy?" Ember asked.

"That shit Cardin bullied Velvet earlier this year," Coco explained. "I was going to break his legs, but Velvet kept saying 'No don't' or 'Please no Coco.' I'm so glad someone finally taught him a lesson."

"Wait," Ember said, "he bullied you?"

"Because I was a Faunus," Velvet explained. "But if Coco had fought him he would've died before breaking his legs."

"That'd be a good lesson then," Coco said, returning to her coffee.

Yale came out and pulled up a chair asking, "So why was Coco so amused?"

"Sadism," Ember replied.

"Not surprised," Yale agreed. "and also not specific."

"Cardin's an ass, and Coco is glad someone showed him what for," Ember explained.

"Alright," Yale said.

The four of them went back to their coffee and tea. They talked for a good hour before things began winding down. Yale said he liked the coffee and asked if he could join them next week. No one was opposed but Coco said he'd have to join the loop of who pays. He hesitated at this condition, but agreed.


	7. Visitors

"YO!" Ember said, slamming his breakfast plate down.

"Grhu," Nick said, covering his ears.

"What?" Yale asked.

"What's with him?" Ember asked.

"He got drunk last night," Yale said.

"Was he caught?" Ember asked.

"No," Yale replied.

"All's good," Ember said, turning to his coffee.

"Look," Nick said, "If you're gonna be loud, at least tell me there's news to make you loud."

"Oh yeah," Ember said. "The students for the tournament are arriving."

"Oh nice," Yale said.

"Also," Ember began, "I heard there was this big fight at the docks. White Fang against some of the girls from Team RWBY."

"Seriously?" nick asked. "Which?"

"Dunno," Ember replied. "I think Ruby was there. She won't explain how or why though."

"Why is Team RWBY always getting into stuff like this?" Brass asked, joining them.

Ever since the tournament Brass had begun to distance himself from Team CRDL. He'd also started showing up to some, though still not all, the team practices Ember scheduled. From time to time he'd even hang out his own team, but still not very often. It wasn't a big change, but it was more than enough for Ember.

"I mean," Brass continued, "They did this thing. They fought the Ursa in Forever Fall – "

"That was JNPR," Ember corrected.

"Huh?" Brass asked. "I thought it was RWBY."

"Nope, JNPR," Yale agreed.

"Did Pyrrha fight it," Brass asked.

"I heard Jaune did," Ember said.

"I heard both," Nick said. "I think it was probably Pyrrha. Jaune isn't really the best fighter around."

"I just heard JNPR," Yale said.

"Why would Pyrrha help out CRDL?" Ember asked.

"Why would Jaune?" Brass asked.

"Fair point," Ember agreed. "Yeah, probably Pyrrha. She doesn't seem like someone to not help out."

"You said other students arrived," Yale shifted the conversation.

"Oh yeah," Ember said, lighting up. "There was a boat that came into port yesterday. It had some kids from Vacuo and Mistral."

"Atlas?" Brass asked.

"I don't think so," Ember answered.

"Who's in Atlas?" Yale asked.

"My brothers," Brass answered.

"Are they with the military?" Nick asked from the table.

"No," Brass said, "They just live there. They aren't too fond of how Ironwood runs things up there. That's partly the reason I was sent to Beacon."

"Why don't they like Atlas?" Yale inquired.

"They think it pushes its students to enlist too much," Brass answered.

"Yeah, I can see that," Yale affirmed.

"Why is that so bad?" Nick asked. "You're helping people either way."

"My family isn't a fan of the military," Brass began. "They think Atlas Specials overlook the little missions too often. My family is dedicated to answering those jobs."

"Really? That's awesome," Ember said.

"My brothers are actually the ones who trained me to fight," Brass elaborated. "I got some training in the backyard with sticks and toy guns until I was eight. Then they taught me to use real weapons."

"At nine?!" Yale asked. "You could've hurt someone."

"I did," Brass said. "They gave me a shotgun. "

"Oh this won't end well," Nick muttered. "Give the kids a massive gun, it'll be fine."

"My older brother Iris," Brass continued, "was helping me steady the gun and warning me about the kick. We fired one round and it dislocated my right arm. We patched it up right away. Iris felt so bad and he kept apologizing and got me some ice cream."

"That wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting," Yale commented.

"Nah, the best stories come from our trips into the wilds outside the kingdom," Brass said.

"With all that training, why even come to Beacon?" Nick said. "You sound like you're already a Hunter."

"My brothers told me I need proper teaching," Brass said. "As much help as they are, they can only teach me practical skills. Also I can only get information on little missions if I'm a certified Hunter. Anyway, uh, you guys waiting for anyone?"

"My family is in town," Nick said. "I can see them whenever. I don't know anyone outside Vale."

"Only people I know are my teacher," Ember said. "I doubt she'll find the time to come here. The only other visitors I know are the guys I met the other day."

"Did you meet a full team?" Nick asked.

"Yeah," Ember answered. "Team AQUA."

"Hehehe," Brass snickered. "AQUA?"

"This coming from Team EBNY," Ember countered.

"EBNY is a bad ass color," Brass defended. "AQUA? That's just so… weak."

"Oh and Ebony is such an edgy color," Nick joked. "Watch out!"

"Eh," Brass returned. "What about you Yale? Anyone outside the kingdom?"

"I've got a pen-pal in Mistral," Yale said. "She and her team are coming down for the tournament."

"Competing?" Ember asked.

"Yeah," Yale said.

"She?" Brass asked. "You gonna ask her to the dance."

"They won't be getting here until after the dance," Yale said. "Also, I already had someone in mind."

"Oh yeah," Ember realized, "the dance is just a few weeks out isn't it?"

"Who are you asking?" Nick asked.

"You'll see," Yale replied.

"Don't have a date yet chief?" Brass joked.

Ember looked confused before saying, "Date? Damn, I don't have much experience with that."

"Ha," Brass laughed. "Better get on it then."

With that Brass stood up. He'd finished his breakfast which had been twice the serving of anyone else. He was off to hang out with some other team or get in some personal training since it was still early.

"Do you have anyone in mind Ember?" Yale asked.

"Hm…" Ember thought. "Eh."

"Pyrrha," Nick teased.

"Really?" Yale acted surprised.

Everyone could tell Ember had an interest in Pyrrha. In fights she always had his attention and Yale constantly saw him glance at her. He was subtle enough that she wouldn't notice, but not enough that his team wouldn't notice.

"You think she'd go with me?" Ember mocked. "I'm nowhere near her league. I'd have better luck with someone like… Velvet."

"A second year?" Nick perked. "An older woman?"

"No, that's," Ember fumbled, "I meant… uh… "

"What did you mean?" someone asked from behind.

Ember turned to see Team CFVY sitting at the table behind them. Coco was peering over her shades at Ember with a look telling simply to pick his words carefully. Velvet was staring directly at Ember. Her look was playful but Ember was starting to panic.

"Uh… uh…" Ember stammered.

Ember turned around away from everyone else. He stared directly into his coffee cup without so much a breath. His legs were pulled together and his arms tucked in close. Velvet began to look concerned and Coco turned away exasperated. Yatsuhashi and Fox hadn't really taken any interest in it at all.

"It's alright Ember," Velvet soothed. "I think I know what you meant."

Ember simply nodded.

"Don't take it personally," Yale told Velvet. "This happens when he gets socially frustrated."

"Hehe," Nick snickered.

"You," Yale said sternly to Nick, "You know what you did."

"I do," he replied. "It was worth it."

"Come on Ember," Yale said. "We've got class soon."

"Mhm," Ember managed.

He quickly grabbed his plate and cup. He rushed to the dish area and dropped them off and was out the door in a matter of seconds. Yale and Nick followed behind him.

* * *

"Nick, you help Ember," Yale ordered.

"Why?" Nick complained.

"You embarrassed him this morning," Yale argued, "So you get to help him ask Pyrrha to the dance."

"He can handle talking one on one," Nick countered.

"Not when it's new territory," Yale continued. "He's never asked a girl out. Give him pointers."

"Fine," Nick said.

"Real pointers," Yale clarified. "If I find out you told him horrible advice… you'd better not."

"Why can't you do it?" Nick begged.

"I've got stuff to do," he answered.

"Hu," Nick sighed.

Nick returned to his computer games as Yale got his shoes on. Yale headed out of the dorm into the hallways. This was about the time that Brass could sometimes be found at the training floor. Yale had to ask him for some pointers which was why he couldn't give Ember pointers. The blind shouldn't be leading the blind.

Yale was in luck since he found Brass practicing his form in one of the training rooms. On top of that he was alone so Yale would feel more comfortable asking his questions. Hopefully Brass could be of some help, Yale didn't know who to ask outside the team for this.

"Hey, Brass," Yale called out.

Brass looked over as an acknowledgement. He finished his form routine before going over to Yale.

"Sup?" Brass asked, slightly winded.

"Hey, uh," Yale began. "You've asked girls out… you know?"

"Yes," Brass replied. "I have asked out girls 'you know.'"

"I mean… um," Yale tried.

"How do I do it?" Brass offered.

"Yeah," he said.

"Well it's simple," Brass began. "You go up to the girl you like. Then, now bear with me, you ask them out."

"Like, to the dance and things?" Yale asked.

"…Yes," Brass replied, his patience overtly waning.

"Good."

"We done?"

"Uh… no," Yale said.

"It's not hard," Brass tried.

"What if… what if I want to ask out a guy?" Yale asked.

"Hm?" Brass inquired.

"What if I want to ask out a guy?" Yale repeated.

"Well," Brass started. "Hm. It shouldn't be any different. I mean, instead of girl I guess you go up to the guy you like and ask them out."

"What if… they're on the team?" Yale asked.

"Is it me?" Brass hesitated.

"What? No," Yale quickly said.

"Alright," Brass said. "Because you failed step one."

"Step one?" Yale asked.

Brass lightly tapped Yale on the head saying, "Just ask them out. No build up if you already know them. Just go up to them and say 'Wanna go to the dance with me?' I mean, if you need to say something like 'I think you're cool' or 'great' or something before that, but just keep it simple. If you keep it simple worst case scenario is they say 'No'."

"It could be worse," Yale said. "I mean… Nick's our teammate and – "

"The worst he can do is say no," Brass interrupted. "That's the worst case scenario because then you have to accept they said no. You don't push it. You don't argue for it. You don't play it off as a joke. You realize they said no and continue on. It only gets complicated when you give yourself false hope that it's gonna work out right now. Maybe later, if things actually change, but until then it's a no."

"If he says yes?" Yale asked sheepishly.

"Then you got what you wanted, right?" Brass said exasperated. "Don't pursue it if 'yes' is an issue."

"Alright," Yale said. "Thanks Brass."

"Nice," Brass said, "Imma train now."

Yale walked back to the dorm room. He was reciting the simple question in his head. His heart began to thud louder as he got closer to the dorm. This was his first time asking someone out. He'd been set up by friends, but this was his first stab at it by himself. His hands were sweaty when he grabbed the door handle to the dorm.

"Nick!" Yale found himself shout.

"Whoa! Ok," Nick began defending, "It was just a joke. I didn't know he'd take it seriously."

"What?" Yale asked.

"What?" Nick played dumb.

"Did you… what'd you tell Ember?"

"…nothing."

"I will find out. You know I will."

"If he has any idea how women work he won't actually do it," Nick vaguely justified.

"Anyway," Yale said, clasping his hands in front of him. "I wanted to ask you something."

Without looking up from his computer, Nick asked, "What?"

"I was wondering if you had a date for the dance."

"Hmm… nope. Not yet," Nick replied.

"So, do you," Yale tried, "uh, do you want to go with me?"

Again without looking up he asked, "Like, as friends? Sure, why not."

"Friends?" Yale muttered softly.

"Hm?" Nick asked.

"Nothing," Yale said. "Yeah, I totally meant as friends. Great… uh… awesome. I… uh… just remembered… I forgot to do something while I was out. Be back."

"Later," Nick said.

Yale left the dorm and walked as fast as he could to the end of the hallway. There was a small balcony overlooking the courtyard from this balcony. Yale went to the railing and braced himself against it.

"Friends," Yale whispered. "Fuck! I was so close. Damnit. What if step one isn't enough?"

"Hey Yale," came Ember's voice suddenly from beside Yale.

"Ember?" Yale asked, startled. "How long – "

"Not long enough to know what you're upset about."

"Why are you out here?"

"I vent out here like you."

"Oh god," Yale remembered. "What'd Nick tell you to do?"

"He told me to 'Neg' Pyrrha before asking her out," Ember replied.

"No…" Yale sighed.

"I didn't," Ember quickly responded. "I'm not stupid. I… I… uh… panicked."

"What happened?" Yale asked.

"I went up to her, completely ready to ask her to the dance," Ember began. "I managed 'Hey Pyrrha, would you –' before panicking. I should've just shut up."

"What'd you say?"

"There was a ten second pause before I finished with ' – want to not have red hair?' Then I went on a tangent about hair dye."

"Wow," Yale said. "I mean… I just asked Nick to the dance."

"Really? Good for you. About time you started pushing that."

"He asked as friends and I said yes."

"Oh… well… half way there?"

"Cheers to failure?" Yale said raising a fake glass.

"To failure," Ember agreed.

* * *

"So, this is Beacon," Ash commented.

"Yhea," Ember said.

"Egh," Ash mocked disgust before snickering. "Nah, it's pretty cool. Not too different from Shade."

Ember had offered to show Ash and Aero from team AQUA around Beacon before class on Monday. They had to take classes at Beacon while here for the Tournament and of all coincidences they'd ended up in the same class block as Ember. Brass and Nick had gone off with Umber to the gym and later they said they'd head into town. Yale had gone into town to get some things Team EBNY needed in the dorm; it was his turn after all. The last member of AQUA was sleeping in and was going to meet up with everyone at lunch.

"The tall tower…" Aero began, "is that the headmaster's room?"

"Yeah," Ember said.

"I heard Ozpin is really something," Aero said. "Like… really interesting."

"I heard he's lax on rules," Ash said. "Is he?"

"He's…" Ember began before remembering all the adventures Ruby had told him she'd gotten into, "selective on rules."

"How selective?" Ash asked.

The three of them were walking along one of the corridors near the cafeteria. They heard screaming outside the window and went to check it out. All the kids were running out of the cafeteria in a panic of some sort. Ember looked closely through one of the windows and caught a flash of red.

"Oh fu…" Ember began, "you're about to see how selective."

"What?" Aero asked.

They could hear maniacal laughter coming from within the cafeteria. Since this was their first day on Beacon campus, Aero and Ash were enthralled by the window into the events. Then a yellow flash crashed through the ceiling and flew far into the sky.

"Holy sh – " Ash exclaimed, censoring himself.

"What?!" Aero managed between laughs.

"That was Yang," Ember explained calmly. "Hopefully… I think she's the only one who could survive that. So if it isn't…. well, we'll pretend it is."

The three of them watched as Glynda stormed into the cafeteria followed leisurely by Ozpin. Ember knew since Ozpin was there the people involved would get off with a warning. Ember then noticed Yang fall back through the ceiling. Ember wondered how long she'd been airborne and what kind of damage she'd taken.

"Is this… is this normal?" Ash asked holding back laughter.

"More than you'd believe," Ember said.


	8. Dance

The dance was in a few days and Yale didn't have a proper suit for the occasion. Luckily for him Ember knew Coco and Coco knew where to find nice clothes for both girls and guys. Since Coco and her team were on a mission it was left to Ember and him to find an appropriate outfit. Aero and Quartz tagged along to help them pick out the best outfits for the four of them.

"What should I go for?" Aero asked.

"How so?" Ember asked.

"Should I go for the dashing leader or suave leader?" Aero clarified.

"You're neither so…" Quartz joked.

Aero feigned as though her words had literally stabbed him. She laughed at her own joke and Ember snickered. Yale was looking at the different suit options. The place they'd come to was on the more affordable side of town, but wasn't as nice as some of the other suit places.

"Go for dashing," Quartz suggested.

"Suave it is," Aero decided.

"How about this one?" Yale said, pulling a jet black suit from the rack.

Ember and Quartz scrutinized the suit for a bit. They looked at it, then at Yale, then back to the suit. Ember's brow furrowed in thought.

"No," he said simply.

"Really?" Quartz said.

"Hm," Ember replied. "It wouldn't work with his body type. Also the color isn't appropriate for his personality."

"I think it'd look good," Quartz replied. "Plus, black is always slimming and with proper tailoring it'd fit his body type."

"You know a bit about fashion, eh Ember?" Aero asked.

"Small hobby," he answered.

Yale put the suit back. He searched the rack for another option. He then pulled out a slim fit, blue suit. He held it up for his judges.

"Oh ho," Ember said. "You're on to something here."

"You just want me to wear blue," Yale accused.

"It fits the name sake," he returned.

"Try it on," Quartz half-ordered. "I think he's on to something."

Yale went into a changing room and tried the suit on. He wore a white undershirt with no pockets. The suit jacket was a single button design and thin collar. The fit was perfect and wrapped tightly around his waist. The slacks were also well fit ending just a little too far, but it could be hemmed. He tied a blue neck tie to complete the outfit. When he stepped out from changing Quartz clapped.

"Very nice," she cheered. "Very nice."

"Mhmm," Ember agreed. "I agree with her, but one thing. Try it without the tie."

"But the event is formal," Yale argued.

"You can arrive with the tie, but take it off," Ember proposed.

Yale took off the tie and undid the top button of the shirt.

"Oh Lord," Quartz said, "Oh, so much nicer."

"It's cause you can barely see his collar bones," Ember said. "It makes him seem more risky, but still a gentleman."

"Oh, you are good at this," Quartz complimented.

"Thank you, thank you," Ember bowed his head.

"How about this?" Aero said.

Yale turned to see Aero's choice. He wore slim black slacks that looked sewn just for him. He had on a white undershirt with the sleeves rolled up past the elbow. He had on a black skinny tie that was the same shade as the pants. Over the shirt and tie he wore a black three button vest. He held his hair back to strike a pose.

"Hot damn," Yale muttered.

"No kidding," Quartz agreed. "Shit Aero, dress like that more often."

"Is this a good pick?" Aero asked.

"Absolutely," Ember chimed in. "I see nothing to improve."

"Tag in," Aero said.

Yale and Aero bought their outfits while Quartz and Ember made their picks. They took a seat and waited for the two to come out. Quartz was ready first. She wore slim, silver dress slacks. She had on the classic white shirt and a slim, unbuttoned purple blazer. The outfit was finished with a purple bow tie.

"Ah yes," Aero said, "very nice. I like it."

"I like the 'pow' of the purple," Quartz said.

"Hm, perhaps… a darker shade of pants so the white shirt stands out a little more," Aero proposed.

"I'll try it," Quartz said and went to find another pair of slacks.

Then Ember stepped out of the changing room. He had on a black slacks and a black shirt, both were slim fit. Over that he wore a red coat that ended at his knees as well as a red bow tie.

"Hm," Aero said, "It doesn't really scream formal."

"But I look good," Ember countered.

"Eh," Yale said.

"Argh," Ember said, grabbing his chest to feign injury.

Maybe if it was a suit jacket," Aero proposed.

"Fine," Ember conceded.

"So, what's it like being a leader?" Yale asked Aero.

"Hm?" Aero thought. "Well, it's not as bad as you'd think. Sure you're the face of the team, but you don't have to do much more than the rest."

"Sounds like your team really hit it off," Yale remarked.

"Eh," Aero dismissed, "Sort of. It's not hard to grow on someone you live and fight with."

Quartz returned with her dark silver slacks and the outfit did look better. Yale and Aero gave her the ok to go buy that outfit. Ember returned with the suit jacket and the outfit looked dance appropriate. With the four outfits chosen they all went back to Beacon.

* * *

It was the night of the dance. Team EBNY agreed to meet up with Team AQUA and their dates. Right now Team EBNY was getting their things ready for the dance back at the room. Ember was looking his outfit over in the mirror; a little sad he wore the suit jacket and not the coat. They were waiting for Nick and Brass to finish getting ready. Brass had gotten back late to change and Nick was being overly fussy with his hair.

"We're gonna be late," Ember told them.

"Fashionably," Nick returned.

"Argh," Ember said.

Brass came out in a black pair of slacks with white suit jacket and dress shirt. He had a black tie and his hair had been messily combed back. He hadn't been shaving so his scruff was at almost the perfect length to compliment the half gentleman look he was going for.

"Oh," Ember said, "Looking dapper, Brass."

"Yeah," he returned. "Not bad yourself, chief. I'm guessing Yale helped pick it out."

"Please," Ember said.

"I did," Yale interrupted.

"Well, yes," Ember admitted.

Finally Nick stepped away from the mirror, satisfied with his hair. He wore dress slacks and a white polo. Ember couldn't see any change in his hair from before he spent so much time getting it jut right.

"Nick," Ember ventured, "your hair looks exactly the same."

"It does not," Nick retorted.

"Let's go," Yale said, "We can't keep AQUA waiting."

"Or my date," Brass said.

"You got a date?" Nick asked.

"Don't act so surprised," Brass returned.

"Who is she?" Yale asked.

"Nebula," Brass said. "She's from Shade. I showed her around town and offered then invited her to the dance."

"Isn't that a bit fast?" Ember asked.

"Naw," Brass said. "She's her for what, a couple months? Also there's only one rule when asking someone out."

"Mhm," Yale agreed. "Let's go."

* * *

Team EBNY didn't need to be in such a rush as it turned out. Team AQUA messaged Ember that they'd be a good thirty minutes late since Ash hadn't started getting ready until it was time to go. Brass met up with Nebula and her team, which was named NDGO. Brass said his goodbyes to his team and went to the dance with the girls.

"You know," Ember began, "How is Brass so good with women?"

"Confidence?" Yale guessed.

"There's probably more to it," Ember said.

"Effort? Character?" Yale tried.

"I dunno," Ember said. "There was this guy at Signal who went out with at least two dozen girls. Going out with him was guaranteed to end in a break up but nearly every girl went out with him. Maybe Brass is like him."

"So a womanizer?" Nick suggested.

"No," Yale interjected. "Brass isn't interested like that. He enjoys their company."

"Then why call it a date?" Nick asked.

"He is into women, but… well…" Yale stuttered. "He can explain it better."

"Look," Ember said, "AQUA."

"Hey," Aero called out, "Sorry about that. Ash is always late."

"It's not… well it is my fault," Ash defended, "but it runs in the family."

The teams joked for a bit before heading to the dance. They got there about forty minutes into things but that left another two hours or so to enjoy themselves. Once inside they split according to what they enjoyed.

Aero, Quartz, Ember, Nick, and Yale made their way to the dance floor. Nick had no sense of beat or rhythm so his dancing was painful to watch. Quartz and Yale melted into the rest of the crowd with their dancing. Aero and Ember were surprisingly good at this. Their movements were fluid and in beat with the music. On top of that it was actually interesting to watch them go at it as it developed into an unofficial dance off between the two of them. After thirty minutes of this the two took a break with silent admittance that Aero had won.

Umber hadn't gone onto the dance floor but had saved a few seats for when his friends got tired. Aero and Ember made their way over to the resting area. Yale joined them shortly after. They talked for a bit before Yale and Ember decided to get some punch.

"Having fun?" Yale asked over the music.

"Yeah," Ember replied. "I love dancing. If you think about, dancing and fighting aren't so different."

"No," Yale argued. "They kind of are different."

"Agree to disagree," Ember said.

The two stopped talking as both got very distracted by another dancer. Making his away across the dance floor was Jaune Arc, but what caught the two off guard was that he was wearing a white dress.

"Hehe," Ember laughed. "Nice."

"He doesn't look bad," Yale said. "Out of character, but not bad."

"What gets me," Ember said, "was that he came here in a suit and just happened to have a dress his size on standby."

The two stopped talking as Team JNPR took to the dance floor and began to dance. Somehow they all were in synch for some dance. Ember wondered if they'd rehearsed this or just adlibbed a perfect routine. When it ended the other dancers returned to the floor and tried to replicate JNPR's moves but all failed to be as synched.

"Well," Ember began. "That was interesting."

"True," Yale agreed. "You think our team could do that?"

Ember didn't reply. He was looking across the dance floor at someone. He hadn't seen her around at all. She had curly red hair and a cream dress on. She was off to a side of the room dancing by herself, and was flanked by two Atlas Guards.

"Hey," Yale said.

"What?" Ember snapped to things.

"What are you looking at?" Yale asked.

"You see that girl over there," Ember said gesturing.

"Curly red hair?" Yale asked. "With the… bodyguards?"

"Yeah," Ember said. "She's sort of cute."

"Hahaha," Yale laughed. "You should only have one bottled up crush at a time Casanova."

"This coming from 'just friends'," Ember countered.

"Oh, low blow Ember," Yale said.

"Sorry," Ember apologized. "Let's get back to the others."

The dance had gone on for ages. Yale was exhausted by the night of dancing at chatting with other teams. Aside from JNPR there hadn't been any major events at the dance. It was low key in a good way.

Yale had gone out to one of the outside balconies to get some air as things were winding down. There wasn't anyone out here. The balcony overlooked Vale and the lights form the quiet town reflected against the ocean around it. The night sky seemed to reflect the town as the stars glistened back at the earth. Yale sighed deeply as he looked at the night sky.

"There you are," someone said behind Yale.

He turned to see Nick standing in a doorway. He was smiling as he made his way over to the ledge where Yale was standing.

"It's nice out tonight," Nick said.

"Yeah," Yale agreed, "I was just thinking that."

Yale shifted awkwardly. This was too perfect, just him and his date out on the balcony on a beautiful night. The crisp air washed against his face. He was thankful because it stopped his face from getting too red.

"Did you have fun?" Nick asked.

"Hehe," Yale stammered. "Uh.. yeah… it was a really great dance you know."

Then Yale felt someone grab his hand. He looked down and saw his fingers intertwined with Nick's. His eyes darted up to meet Nick's.

"It took some time," Nick said, "but I figured out what you meant when you asked me to the dance."

"Eh…" Yale managed, thoroughly embarrassed.

"I can see this working," Nick said. "If we take it slow."

"Um…" Yale still stammered. "Uh…"

"Ask me again," Nick said.

"Uh…" Yale tried. "Nick, will you go to the dance with me?"

"As a date?" Nick clarified.

"Yes," Yale said, his face flushing deep red.

"Sure," Nick answered. "I'd love to."


	9. Old Master

Everyone at Beacon, at least the first years, was gathered in the main hall. Today they were getting their shadow missions. It was something every student looked forward to because they actually got some real field experience unlike a semester of in class lessons. Team EBNY and AQUA eagerly waited for the presentation to begin.

"Quiet! Quiet please," Glynda ordered from the stage. "Professor Ozpin would like to share a few words before we begin."

Ozpin took to the mike and began, "Today we stand together, united. Mistral. Atlas. Vacuo. Vale. The four Kingdoms of Remnant. On this day, nearly eighty years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression. A war that was about much more than where borders fell or who traded with whom, but about the very idea of individualism itself. We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self-expression. And as you are well aware, that was something many could not stand for.

"As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself: color. It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither were the generations to come. And it was a trend that is held to this very day. We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity through diversity. As I have said, today we stand together, united. But this bond cannot exist without effort.

"Which is why today, while the rest of the world celebrates peace, Huntsmen and Huntresses will work to uphold it. As first year students, you will be tasked with shadowing a professional Huntsman or Huntress on a mission. Some of you may be taken out of the Kingdom for several days. Others may work within the walls for the rest of the week. But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best."

With that the introduction was over and the teams split to sign up for missions of their choice. Ember turned to face his team. He was hoping for a little bit of Search and Destroy. It'd been too long since he'd properly destroyed something flat out.

"Preference?" Ember asked innocently.

"Something in the walls," Nick suggested. "I'm not big on camping."

"I wouldn't mind staying in the walls," Yale agreed.

"I do plenty of outer wall stuff at home," Brass added, "Something less rugged sounds nice."

"Alright," Ember feigned. "Let's see what they have."

The team made their way over to the area with missions inside the wall. Ember looked over some of them. The only one that interested him was Junior Detectives, but he couldn't see his whole team getting on that bandwagon.

"Ember," a soft voice said from behind him.

Turning Ember saw Ozpin standing there. He sipped from his coffee mug. Ember smiled and gave a polite nod.

"Sup Ozpin," Ember said.

"Most would not greet the headmaster so formerly," Ozpin said.

"Sorry," Ember replied.

"Your team was requested for a mission specifically," Ozpin informed. "Bring them over and I'll give you all the details."

Ember went and got the other members of Team EBNY who'd spread out to look at all the options. Yale began telling him about the one they should pick, but stopped when he saw Ozpin. Ember knew it was nothing, but getting called aside by the headmaster made it seem like they were in trouble.

"So what mission were we called for?" Ember asked.

"A certain Huntress beyond the walls asked for Ember Ohgi," Ozpin explained, "and, I quote her on this, 'the other shits of his gang.' You are free to accept or deny this mission."

Ozpin sent the information to their scrolls and each member read over the details of the mission. It was a search and Rescue mission far beyond the walls. It had an expected duration of a week to a maximum of a month. The threat level was within their bounds as first years. What caught Ember's attention was the Huntress: Midnight.

"Who's 'Midnight?'" Yale asked.

Ember couldn't say anything.

"Hey, Ember?" Brass said, "Ember?"

"Huh?" he finally said.

"Who's Midnight?" Brass asked.

"My former teacher," he answered. "It's not like her to ask for help. Ozpin, are you sure the threat level is accurate?"

"No," Ozpin replied. "I can never be certain of a mission's danger. That is the job of the one accepting the mission to risk."

"Should we take it, Ember?" Yale asked.

"I'd… I'd love to see her, but you guys wanted a mission in the walls," Ember offered.

"Psh," Brass said. "I was lying. I love outside missions."

"I wasn't," Nick muttered. "But… It sounds important to you."

"Yale?" Ember asked.

"Don't care," he said. "Worst that could happen is your teacher fudged the danger level."

"We'll take the mission Ozpin," Ember concluded for the team.

"Alright," he said. "You leave immediately. Get some supplies and meet the pilot out front."

* * *

They took a Bullhead to the destination. It was scheduled to be a two hour flight to the drop off point. As the name implies, there was no landing but rather a scheduled slow down for them to jump out. This was at the request of the Huntress for reasons left unspecified.

Without a definite end date for the mission the team packed to varying degrees. Brass packed his sleeping roll and two weeks rations. Nick packed sleeping roll and closer to three weeks rations. Yale wasn't as strong so he'd gone sleeping roll, one week rations, and a few tools like flint. Ember had packed literally nothing, but when Yale asked if any of them should pack he said it was a good idea.

Everything about this mission unnerved Yale. Ember hadn't talked about his old master and suddenly she comes up out of nowhere. On top of that Ember became absolutely enthralled by the mere mention of her name. It was unlike Ember to not go off on a seemingly endless tangent about things that interested him.

"Ember," Yale began slowly.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"What's your old teacher like?" Yale asked.

"She's… eccentric," he said cryptically.

"Ember, for god's sake," Yale burst, "Be more descriptive. We're about to spend who knows how long with this woman. The least you could do as leader is give us something to go off. For once in your life tell us about yourself."

"Oh hoho," Nick joked, "Yale got mad."

"Sorry," Ember said, "It's just… mixed feelings about this mission."

"Still vague," Yale said.

"Ok," Ember began. "My old teacher had very unorthodox training methods. She was not the one to teach me to use Patience or Rage, I learned that at Signal. She sent me to Signal three years ago when she had to go on a special mission but wanted me to continue my training. Her training was all hand to hand combat with a focus on semblance. I never met her standards on semblance so hand to hand combat was hell to compensate. I trained with her since I was about nine. And I haven't seen her since I was fifteen."

"How was her training unorthodox?" Brass asked.

"It was active training against Grimm," Ember explained. "She kept me safe until I beat my first Grimm. Then it was all on me to protect myself. There was never slack."

"Sounds rough," Brass said.

"It was," Ember admitted. "But… I mean, I owe her a good deal. More than just training."

Yale noticed the Ember was massaging his arms when he said this. He gave a quick glance at the other two and affirmed they also saw it. No one pushed the conversation further. They wanted to know something about Midnight and they got it.

"We're on approach," the pilot said.

Everyone in the back began for the drop. The pilot began his descent over the forest below. Yale held his bag tight recalling how the nearest settlement was half a day's walk away. He also knew the danger level of all the Grimm in the surrounding woods was very high. He knew the danger rating for this mission was fudged; he was sure of it.

"Go," the pilot ordered.

Team EBNY jumped from the Bullhead into the forest. Despite the descent they were still a good two hundred meters in the air. It wasn't much to worry about; they'd all done this sort of thing on their first day at Beacon. Yale kicked off the Bullhead as he dropped and tucked into a spin. He spun faster and faster as the ground sped towards him. He was playing off a physics concept he learned called the Bernoulli Effect. As he spun it would change the direction of his fall so instead of landing perfectly vertical he'd land with some forward momentum which he'd turn into a roll. It all worked according to plan and thanks to his aura he suffered no physical damage.

He got up from the ground and turned to check on his teammates. Brass had softened the earth on impact so his landing wasn't as hard as it would've been. Nick had created layers of wards that incrementally slowed his landing. Yale only caught a glimpse of Ember as his wings of flame tucked away. He was sad that once again he'd missed seeing Ember use his semblance; he was the only one on the team to not use it in combat.

"Six out of ten," a voice echoed all around them. "It worked but… it lacked elegance."

"Careful," Ember ordered. "She might test us."

"How so?" Yale asked as he moved back towards the group.

"Oh Ember," the voice echoed again, "You don't trust little old me?"

"I know you pretty well by now so… no," Ember joked.

"Well," she said again form all sides, "you're right not to."

From the forest on all side came figures. There were twenty of them, and they were all identical. They were all women wearing a black skirt with black leggings and heels, and had on a black shirt and jacket. Her hair was jet black and ended above her shoulders. Her eyes intimidated Yale with a piercing red gleam. She smiled a twisted smile that made Yale's skin crawl. Every part of him was screaming to run, that he was about to die.

"First test," all the women said in unison, "If any of you can land a single hit on the real me you pass."

"What?" Brass asked.

"How can we tell which is real?" Nick asked.

"My doppelgangers disappear when hit," she said. "Unfortunately for you, they can hit you without going anywhere. GO!"

With that all the doppelgangers rushed the four students. Yale got hit in the stomach four times and the back twice in the initial burst. He dropped Regime since he didn't have time to put it away and grabbed from his Horsemen. He managed to get two out but one of the doppelgangers disarmed his left hand. He swung and landed a hit, but the woman faded. He drew another Horseman but was under constant attack. He cut his losses and leapt as high as he could.

Beneath him his teammates were taking an equal beating. Nick was holding out with near frantic swings of his chainsaw and wards covering his blind spots. Brass was getting his ass handed to him as the doppelgangers were much faster than him and exploited the minimum reach of his war axe. Ember was barely holding his defense against the five women attacking him form all sides.

"Yale!" Ember called. "Mjolnir us!"

That was code for his lightning. He understood instantly the plan. They only had to hit her once and his lightning could hit every one of the doppelgangers. Since he didn't have to sustain it his allies would also walk away with little injury.

"Got it!" Yale yelled back, already charging his attack.

He brought his hands apart and lightning arced between his finger tips. A small tingle went up his arms as the lightning danced across his aura. He angled his hands at the ground beneath himself, thankful he'd jumped so he could see the whole fight. The lightning arced from his fingers at the five women he'd been fighting. Yale maneuvered his hands rapidly so the lightning covered the whole field. Once off his hand the lightning tracked to its nearest target whether Yale wanted it or not. He managed to hit all but three of the twenty women. The three he missed faded regardless.

Standing right in front of Brass was apparently the original copy for the doppelgangers. She was still smiling her twisted smile, showing all her teeth and widening eyes. Brass instinctively put distance between himself and her, positioning his weapon for a fight.

"Hahaha," the woman laughed. "Well done. I give it a C+ for concept, but the time it took to use as well as the sloppy technique ruined he whole effect."

"C+?" Nick asked, winded after the thirty second fight.

"Hey," Ember said, "that is really good by her standards."

"Oh my little Ember," the woman cooed, "Why do you use those weapons? I didn't teach you that. Oh come now my dear, you hurt this old woman's heart."

"Signal mandated I use weapons," Ember replied.

"Phooey," she said. "So, I take it you're the leader of these rapscallions?"

"Yeah," Brass said, "and I take it you're Ms. Akuma?"

"Please dear, call me Midnight," Midnight insisted. "You make me sound so… old with the formalities."

"What's with the old fixation?" Nick muttered.

"You're old!" Midnight snapped.

"Midnight," Ember ventured, "Why did you request us?"

"Ah!" Midnight jumped and rushed up to Ember's face. "Yes, precisely. It is very important you get a proper teaching. Trust Beacon and yes, but a real fighting lesson. I mean, look! You're all using weapons. What a hindrance!"

She backed away from Ember. Her hands were flailing around as sh spouted these things. She walked around in a small circle as she continued her rant.

"Nope, you need to fight with aura, with semblance. Weapon… ugh! They can help, but not for you lot. I didn't feel that in our fight. Nope, no sir. You four need my training. That's our mission. We shall search for your aura and rescue it."

"Oh my god," Nick said, "That's the search and rescue?"

"Huh?" Midnight said. "Oh no, that comes later. We can't do that for another two weeks. Timing is key. Until then! Train! I will train you! It will be so much fun."

Midnight had become ecstatic. Yale's instincts were still screaming at him to run. How in all things holy did Ember turn out so reserved with such an insane teacher? Midnight's eyes darted to Yale nd he felt his body lock in place.

"Ah, yes," she said. "You… and… Ember! Get fire wood. We'll pitch camp here."

"It's quarter past two," Brass pointed out.

"Later then we sleep," Midnight replied. "Fire wood is an essential. Water might be more so, but that is not yet our concern. There's water down the way."

When no one moved Midnight screamed, "You! Ember! Water! Now!"

The two hurried off leaving their unfortunate comrades behind.

* * *

There were two behind him and two in front of him. Not to mention there was the one he was actually fighting. Nick fired a round from his shotgun while pivoting off one foot. The momentum sent him towards the two enemies behind which he swung at with his chainsaw. He missed both, but wasn't surprised. He cast a ward overhead to deflect an attack his instincts screamed was on the way. He was very satisfied to hear a clang against the ward.

He spun to face the direction of the attack. His face was met solidly with a fist. It landed right on the bridge of his nose and hit with enough force to send him sprawling away. He flew backwards into a tree and was back on his feet in an instant. However, the four doppelgangers had begun to fade.

"Excellent progress," Midnight called. "That's one down of the five."

Nick made his way over to the small spot under the tree that was designated the stands. Brass was on his back still recovering from his fight. Ember was checking his weapons because he was up next. Each of them was to spar against five doppelgangers alone until all five had taken a hit or they're aura had run out. They got three chances each session.

This is the way it'd been for the past week. Midnight had been putting them through a training hell. They sparred like this before each meal. After meals they'd do some insane workout routine designed by Midnight. The first day had been one hundred pushups, which wasn't bad until she said they had to all one hundred in under two minutes or they'd restart at one. No one finished that exercise but Brass came close with eighty four in one go.

"Ready Ember?" Midnight asked.

"Mh," he replied.

"It'll start at any time," Midnight said. "Go!"

Ember made his way down into the clearing. The sparring was done in a dirt clearing about the same size as the sparring area back at beacon. It allotted no cover or tools beyond dirt. Every time Brass had made some sort of cover Midnight would destroy it before the next match.

Ember had his Rapier drawn and his pistol was still sheathed. He was on high alert, scanning his surroundings. Then the match began. Four doppelgangers appeared behind Ember and one directly in front. Ember dashed to a side knowing the one in front was bait. He continued to side step the doppelganger advances.

Midnight's semblance was shadows and her doppelgangers were mere illusions. That was why the ganger's disappeared when struck but could hit back. Apparently the shadows were only about half as strong as the actual Midnight which left Nick thoroughly impressed. It took all his energy to land a hit on just one of the doppelgangers, and it was literally a shadow of the real deal.

"Ember," Midnight called out, "Use you your semblance for fuck's sake."

Nick looked over to see Ember on the defensive against the doppelgangers. This lesson was three fold as far as Nick took it. The first lesson was how to handle an opponent stronger than you. The second was how to handle many opponents of skill at once. The last was just general training for aura; both stress training and application training.

Yale had the most luck since his semblance was so well suited for this fight. In his first match he actually took out one of the doppelgangers. However, Midnight had learned from day one and didn't cluster her shadows when fighting him. Yale had only managed to take out a total of two in any given match over the past week. Brass had taken out one, Nick had taken out one, and Ember had taken out none.

"Midnight?" Nick asked.

"Hm?" she replied.

"What is Ember's semblance?"

"He hasn't told you?" Midnight asked confused.

"He has," Nick answered, "but it was vague."

"Celestial," Yale said. "He only told us that much. He doesn't use it enough for us to understand."

"Well…" Midnight began. "That's because he's afraid of it."

"Afraid of his semblance?" Brass asked. "How?"

"Our semblance is a reflection of who we are," Yale said. "Does that mean… he's afraid of himself?"

"Yes and no," Midnight stated.

"So that's where he gets his cryptic nature," Nick said, laying back down.

"He obviously hasn't told you about himself," Midnight said. "Nothing at all. It isn't my place to tell you. But, as your teacher and since you're his team I'll tell you about his semblance. Celestial is just that, it's all about space. Anything in space he can summon in some way, shape, or form. Take for example his wings, cause I know you've seen that. Hell, I saw them when y'all landed. They're quite beautiful.

"I lost myself, where was I? Wings… space… aw yes. Those wings are him applying what I call 'solar flame.' It's the only thing he ever uses if he absolutely has to use his semblance. There is so much more to it. I couldn't even begin to tell you because I'm no space expert, I don't know anything about astrology."

"Astronomy," Yale corrected.

"Same thing," Midnight continued. "The thing is… about his power… He tied it to the story I'm not gonna tell ya. He's tied his semblance to his fear, to his anger, to his despair. I'm to blame somewhat for that. If he ever wants to be a real hunter he'll have to get over it. I can't do anything after making myself such a specific person in his mind. It's on you three to get him to get over his fear."

"We can't do that if we don't know what he's afraid of," Nick pointed out.

"Why don't you ask him then?" Midnight hissed.

Ember was walking back up the hill. Nick hadn't even been watching the fight. By the looks of things Ember hadn't done any better than before.

"Ember," Brass asked nonchalantly, "Why don't you use your semblance in practice?"

"It's… uh…" Ember stammered. "It's involves the wraps."

"Are you ever going to tell us that story?" Yale asked.

"I don't know," Ember said. "I'd rather forget it."

"Should I tell it?" Midnight asked.

"You don't know the whole story," he said.

"This is true," Midnight admitted. "I'll go make us some dinner. We're having rock soup. Gotta love eating the rocks around here. Surprisingly soft, mmm."

* * *

The following day Midnight told them over breakfast they were going to be changing up the regimen. They all sat around in a half circle facing Midnight. She had been sitting there silently looking at the four of them without a word for ten minutes now. Nick ha tried to say something but she cut him off with a hush.

"Uh – " Brass tried.

"Shh," Midnight cut him off.

They continued to sit silently. Yale began to wonder if this was some sort of test. He looked to Ember who silently shrugged back. The team continued to wait for Midnight to say something.

"Alright," Midnight said after another five minutes of silence. "I have an answer."

"To… what?" Nick asked.

"My lesson," she said.

When she didn't continue, Nick asked, "Which is what?"

"I know how to train your Aura's," she said. "I had to figure it out which is why we did all the sparring. If you do these practices you can grow big and strong. Each is specialized for you."

"Alright," Brass said.

"Go," Midnight ordered, "each of you. Pick a corner and I'll walk you through practice. Until your turn, hmm, just do whatever normal practice you do."

Yale stood up with the rest of his team. They made their way to the sparring clearing and picked one of the four corners. Midnight nodded to herself as each took to their corners. She went over to Ember first, leaving the rest to practice their personal own way.

Brass sat down and began to meditate. His legs had the heels placed firmly together and his hands were in fists placed together at the knuckle. The earth around him slowly churned as he focused his energies on his aura. Yale was half-mesmerized by the display as some of the earth rose from the ground before being gently being returned a little while later.

Nick was holding one arm out in front of himself. A ward emanated inches in front of himself. It was a small disk that he moved around ever so slightly without shifting his arm. The ward in front of him vanished and a new one appeared behind him. His practice, as Yale noted, was to dispel and summon wards as fast as he could. The process took around two seconds and he could do it only a few times before exhausting himself.

Yale readied himself for his own training. He clasped his hands together and focused. He could feel a tingle between his hands as the lightning charged. The greatest draw back to his power was the charge time. The second draw back was he couldn't keep the power going too long. He brought his hands apart knowing he'd improved over the semester; he could charge up in about four seconds instead of the original six or seven. Now he held a small arc of blue energy between his hands. He focused on containing the arc within the confines of his hands without letting any of the energy stray even a centimeter outwards. He kept this up for no longer than twenty seconds before the bolt struck the ground at his feet. He was winded and had broken out into a light sweat. He started over, clasping his hands together.

Yale did this routine another four times before Midnight walked up to him. He peered past her to look at Ember. He had his left fist at eye level and curled into a fist. His arm tensed and then his palm opened. From nothing Ember had produced a small orb of pure flame that looked like a tiny sun. He twirled his fingers and the orb began to orbit around Ember as he repeated the process to create another orb.

"Woah," Yale muttered.

"That's hardly the tip of the iceberg," Midnight told Yale.

"Really?"

Ember was about to make a third orb when the other two suddenly vanished. He released his balled up fist and a puff of smoke rose from his hand. The capitated teammates starred just a second longer before returning to their own exercise. They didn't want him knowing they'd been watching so closely.

"His training is to make fifteen orbs at once," Midnight said. "As for you… hm.. mhm.. yes."

"What is it?" Yale asked.

"Tell me, can you absorb lightning?" Midnight asked.

"Uh… no. I've tried, but… uh… I can't." Yale replied. "It isn't possible. The lightning… once it's made… I'm just a guide. Once I make the lightning it only listens a little. Do you understand?"

"Mhmm," Midnight affirmed. "I do. Well, since you are a guide, have you ever considered being a conduit?"

"A conduit?" Yale inquired.

"Yeah, that's the word I think," Midnight explained. "When lightning or energy hits you, just direct it somewhere else. You can't absorb it, so just, you know, make it hit someone else."

"Is that my training?" Yale asked.

"No," Midnight said bluntly, "I was just curious. No, you're training is something else. I've seen you make lightning bolts, but those are simple and wild. No, your training has two steps. I want you to make a lightning orb."

"You sure do love orbs," Yale said.

"They're just so… refined and lovely," Midnight explained. "Think about it. A bolt is just a line, probably crooked at that and no one likes a crooked mayor, but what if the mayor was a circle, or since they're real a sphere. Oh, it's so hard to hit a sphere, like a kickball but you aren't hitting it with your foot. Yes. Orbs are wonderful."

"Uh… What?" Yale asked.

"Hm?" Midnight said. "That made more sense in my head; just trust me that I'm right."

"Alright," Yale said.

"So," Midnight continued, "Training. Two parts. Part one is to make an orb of lightning. Part two is a little harder. I want you to bring the lightning from the sky."

"What?" Yale asked. "No, I make the lightning. I can't summon it."

"Exactly," Midnight said. "You can only create it because you told yourself that. You made the limit on your power. Break the limit. Summon lightning from the sky like an ancient god of destruction so that you may seduce all your enemy's women, or men, not animals because that's wrong. Anyway you'll be a destroyer. Mhm. Yes."

"Uh… sure, ok," Yale said, wanting this all to be over so she'd leave.

"Excellent," Midnight said.


	10. The Ring

The two weeks had been packed with training. Ember didn't remember things being so intense before he went to Signal. He finally realized that Midnight had been going easy on him all along and now she was giving him and his team some real practice. His body was sore and his spirit was exhausted. He was glad the two weeks were over and soon they'd be on their way back to Beacon.

The team was gathered around for breakfast. Brass had gotten used to Midnight's cooking and was helping himself to thirds on her rock omelet. Nick and Yale had eaten half their serving and Ember was pushing himself to finish his helping. Midnight was enjoying her coffee that went along with the meal. Ember was sure his friends were beginning to understand his coffee dependence after these two weeks.

"So, Midnight," Brass began. "It's been two week, that means it's time for the mission."

"Exactly," she said, "you didn't get as strong as I'd hoped, but you'll do just fine. It wasn't too hard to begin with. Well, not that tough with me going along."

"So what are we doing?" Nick asked. "It was search and rescue, right?"

"Yes," Midnight said. "We're going to be rescuing some kids from a smuggling ring. They've been taking kids in the settlements off the beaten path and selling them to all kinds of dealers. Some become child soldiers and others become slave labor."

"Dark," Nick said.

"Very," Midnight said. "Our goal is two fold. Rescue the kids at the location I found and capture the leader."

"Wait, we're going for the head of this?" Yale asked.

"Yes," Midnight said. "That's why we had two weeks to train. The leader is schedule to inspect the 'merchandise' today. He only does this now and again. I got a tip that he'd be coming today."

"A tip?" Ember asked. "From who?"

"An employee who doesn't hold up to torture," Midnight answered.

"Torture…" Brass trailed off.

"My power does more than just create doppelgangers," Midnight said. "I made him experience nightmares. The worst his mind could imagine. I kept it up until he cracked and told me what I needed."

"What then?" Nick asked.

"I left him," Midnight said.

"You didn't… you shouldn't…" Yale struggled.

"I have no sympathy for these monsters," Midnight said sternly.

"You don't have the right," Yale stated. "You… you don't have the right to kill someone."

"I didn't kill him," Midnight said. "The Grimm probably did."

"That doesn't change much," Nick said.

"I have the right to keep people safe," Midnight said. "To me, that means killing anyone who is a threat to the innocent."

"You could've put him in prison or – " Yale tried.

"What?" Midnight interrupted. "So he could work the system? So he could get off early? So he could 'learn his lesson?' You're all old enough to realize people take more than a time out and a slap on the wrist to change."

"But they – " Yale tried.

"They what?"

"… they… they're people too." Yale argued.

"People can worse monsters than the Grimm." Ember muttered.

Yale looked shocked at Ember for his comment. Nick and Brass had thei heads lowered for this argument. Neither seemed ready to weigh in.

Ember continued, "Midnight, we're not ready to kill another person. We're just first years. I know that as Huntsmen we may have to kill others, but not yet. We aren't ready for that burden."

"You'll all carry it one day," Midnight said.

"I won't" Yale said.

"Then you'll carry the burden of victims you didn't save," Midnight retorted. "But, I knew you wouldn't be ready to go in for the kill. My plan is to capture the leader. He knows about other operations like this and is the kind of guy who'll turn that information over after some time in prison. He also isn't connected enough to get out of prison."

"So then," Nick said cautiously," What's the… uh… plan?"

"We'll go in three teams," Midnight said. "I'll be Team A. My job will be to handle all the guards. I'll be escorting Team B, which will be Yale and Nick. You two will be tasked with taking the leader out. Yale, use your lightning to stun him or knives to wound him. Got it?"

"Yeah," Nick said.

"Mh," Yale muttered.

"Brass and Ember, you'll be Team C. You'll be heading to the basement to secure the kids. Make sure no one gets in or out until we arrive with the leader. Then I'll help everyone out of the facility. I told a Bullhead to rendezvous at a specific spot. The Bullhead will scatter most of the thugs and make our escape simple. Understood?"

"Yeah," Team EBNY said in unison.

* * *

All the teams were in position for the attack. Ember and Brass had been stationed on a cliff near the entrance to the facility. Midnight hadn't told them what the facility was, merely where they had to go. The facility looked like an abandoned factory, but what it was doing so far from any capital made no sense. It was heavily fortified and guarded; even at night Ember could make out the patrols and cameras. He and Brass had to find their way into whatever basement Midngiht expected them to find, secure the kids, and wait for her to arrive.

"So," Brass ventured, "What signal are we looking for?"

"She said we'd know," Ember answered.

"You, your teacher, everyone out here is so fucking cryptic," Brass complained.

"Alright, knowing her it'll probably be an explosion or… screaming."

"Screaming?"

"You probably pieced this together, but she isn't the most sensitive person."

The two became silent as a tree came hurling through the air. It crashed into the front doors of the facility tripping dozens of alarms. A second tree went sailing through the air and landed on the roof, taking out all landing pads that could've existed.

"What the hell?" Brass asked.

"She can grab things with her shadows," Ember summarized as he stood up. "I'm betting that was the signal."

"Well no shit."

With that the two leapt off the cliff side and rushed into the factory.

* * *

Midnight ran ahead of Nick and Yale giggling as she took out guard after guard in the factory. Nick was surprised that Midnight still didn't use a weapon. She rushed form guard to guard hitting them with her bare fists once or twice and taking them down instantly. Her hands were a flurry of motion with no clear path or style. She hit things for the sake of hitting them.

The three of them came to an open room. There was a door on the far side of the room. Standing between them and the door was a heavily armored man. He wore what looked like something you'd put on a tank and carried a massive anti-tank rifle to match the appearance. His unarmored face was shaved and bore scars of numerous victories. His eyes looked down on the three of them.

"Two children and an unarmed woman," he gloated. "I expected something more from an attack of this scale!"

"Got a problem with women?" Midnight asked.

"No, they put up quite a fight," the man explained. "But, you see, you're completely unarmed."

"You'd be surprised," Midnight joked.

Nick gripped his shotgun tightly. He was hoping Midnight wasn't counting on his wards for this. He could stop a few bullets, but nothing like an anti-tank round.

"Hahaha," the man laughed. "I don't think you know who I am. I am Zaffre the Tank! I've been in the business of mercenary before either of your boys were born. I fought – "

" - two dozen men in a towel with just a bear cap," Midnight finished for him. "I conquered more Grimm in a day than you've seen in your life. I bear the scars of a true warrior! You dare fight me? Turn back now, I have no interest in fighting the weak."

Zaffre noticeably took a step back. His netire demeanor had changed when Midnight went on that rant. He still stood firm, but was obviously reevaluating his opponent.

"How do you know that?" Zaffre asked.

"You're speech?" Midnight asked.

"Yeah," he said. "How do you know my speech?"

"I don't do things without a plan," Midnight said. "Zaffre Huglaus Krieger. Age thirty nine years. Time in spent as a mercenary: twelve years. These 'boys' are far older than twelve. Projected kill count for employers ranges from thirty to seventy. Prior occupations include bar tender and bouncer. Parents are both deceased."

"How do you – " Zaffre tried again, gripping his gun tighter and slowly leveling it at Midnight.

"Fighting styles include bare knuckle boxing, which he learned from Old Man Ester. Also proficient with knives of most sizes and heavy weaponry. Capable of benching half a ton on a good day. I research into my prey. I know what to expect. I don't bring students unless I guarantee their safety. You pose no threat to us, so why don't you lower your gun?"

"Hehe," Zaffre snickered. "So oyu know me. Doesn't mean you can beat me."

He fired a single shot from his gun at Midnight who disappeared. The round sailed down the hall behind them and collided with a wall. Nick and Yale looked around for Midnight, as did Zaffre. Midnight appeared in front of Zaffre seemingly instantaneously. She pulled the gun from his hands and clocked him across the face with her other hand. The gun clattered to the ground and Midnight delivered four more punches to Zaffre and finished with a swift kick to his legs. He fell down with a soft groan of defeat.

"Oh," Midnight said. "That wasn't as much fun as I'd hoped."

"Holy damn," Nick said.

"Well," Midnight continued, "The leader should be down that Hall. I'm going to make sure no one bogs down the escape route. You two keep going."

"What if there's another guard?" Yale asked.

"They usually only bring one guard," Midnight said.

"And if they didn't?" Nick asked.

"Then fight," Midnight stated. "That's what Huntsmen do."

With that Midnight darted back the way they came. Yale and Nick looked at each other before heading through the door Zaffre was guarding. It was another hallway that led to another open area. However, this area was T-shaped with two possible paths.

"Well," Nick said, "Now what? This wasn't in her master plan."

"We should… uh…" Yale said.

"Looks like we need to split up," Nick said.

"No," Yale countered. "It'd be safer if we stick together."

"But we can't risk the leader getting away," Nick said.

After some hesitation Yale agreed, "Yeah. You're right. We'll split up and search each fork as fast as we can. Right?"

"Sure," Nick said. "I got left."

Nick always took right. It was something he'd picked up from his childhood stories. Adventure and danger always happened in the left hallway. For most instances the principle had held true in life. Nick was itching for a fight after watching Midnight destroy Zaffre.

* * *

The basement had proved easier to find than Ember expected. It was at the base of the only staircase going down in the whole facility. Every other staircase led up to cat walks the coursed through the abandoned factory; old veins overlooking the dead heart of the facility. The guards on the catwalks paid no heed to them as orders directing them to 'a woman rampaging elsewhere' were more pressing than the two of them. At the base of the stairs to the basement was the only obstacle to Brass and Ember's goal.

The door was guarded by four thugs, each wearing a suit and red shades. They had red blades and machine guns to keep them back. It took Brass and Ember a matter of seconds to get through them. However, the door to the basement was locked shut and at least four inch thick steel.

"You think the guards have keys?" Ember suggested.

"Don't need them," Brass said, stepping closer to the door. "Just keep anyone interested off my back."

With that Brass punched the door. It bent a little. He followed up with another devastating punch. Ember walked back up the stair about half way so that he could peer out for enemies. Despite all the clanging Brass made it attracted no guard attention. It went on for about a minute.

"Open," Brass said.

Ember made his way through the hole Brass had punched in the door. It was bent inward just enough for the two of them to fit.

"Impressive," Ember complimented.

"Metal has earth mixed in," brass explained. "I can't control it, but it made things slightly easier."

The corridor behind the door was dimly lit and humid. They could hear the hum of boilers and generators around them. For an abandoned factory the lower floors were surprisingly active. Brass and Ember dashed down the corridor checking all the doors along the way.

"Ember," Brass called out. "I found them, but my armor terrified them."

"What?" Ember asked as he jogged to the door Brass was guarding.

"My armor terrified them," Brass said. "They think I'm here to hurt them."

"Take off the helmet and I'll go in with you," Ember ordered.

Brass took his helmet off with some hesitation. Ember went through the door first. Inside about twenty children huddle together. Two boys and a girl, the oldest looking of the bunch, sat between Ember and Brass. They starred the two guys down. The door they came through was the only entrance into this boiler room.

"Don't come any closer!" One of the boys ordered.

"Whoa," Ember said, raising his hands defensively. "I'm not here to hurt you. Me and my buddy are here to save y'all."

The kids in front looked skeptical of this. Ember couldn't blame them; he had no idea what they'd been through up to this point. He was thoroughly impressed by their bravery.

"Really?" one girl behind them asked.

"Prove it," the girl in front ordered.

"Um…" Ember stammered.

"Look," Brass said.

Ember turned to see him lowering his LMG to the ground. He gently placed it on the concrete and raised his hands. Ember followed, placing his rapier in its sheath and then on the ground. He then unlatched his gun and placed it down too. The two of them backed up from their weapons.

"We don't want to hurt you," Brass said. "We have those only to hurt monsters. None of you look like monsters."

"Alright," one of the lead boys said. "I don't think we have much of a choice."

"How old are you?" Ember asked.

"I'm eleven," he said.

"Damn," Brass muttered.

"I'm going to take my weapons back and guard the hall," Ember said. He then addressed the same boy asking, "Is that alright?

"Uh…" The boy stammered. "Yeah, Do it."

"Yes sir," Ember said.

He and Brass picked up their weapons. Ember headed off to the hall. The two of them just had to hold out until the other teams met up with them. Things were running as smoothly as a raid could go. He hoped things stayed that way.

* * *

Yale had found a door at the end of his hallway. He took a deep breath. He tightened his Regime and had a knife tucked in his off hand in case of emergency. He burst through the simple doors and leveled his rifle at the first person he saw.

The room was small and rectangular. It had a window overlooking the factory main hall where the faint image of a woman could be seen fighting dozens of guards. There was a desk with two chairs seated on its opposite side, the same side Yale was on. Behind the desk sat a man in a tailored red suit. His blond hair was greased back. His eyes starred with anticipation at Yale. In his hand left hand, visibly displayed, was what looked like a trigger of some sort.

"Stand down," Yale ordered.

"What are you, police?" the man replied. "I don't think so."

Yale starred back at the man. He forced himself to stay calm. He had no idea what the device the man held did or if it was a bluff. He tried to keep his focus on the man, but his eyes kept betraying him.

"You know what this is?" the man asked. "Obviously a detonator."

He spun the laptop that was on the office desk around. On screen was a series of security cameras. Some of them had a dead feed displayed. The man tapped one key and specific feed took full screen. Yale saw Brass guarding twenty or so kids in the room.

"Specifically," the man continued, "it's my insurance. I run a careful operation, boy. These kids are an investment, but not worth my life. This detonator is rigged to destroy the boilers in that room."

"What?" Yale asked.

"You think we need boilers to run an empty warehouse?" the man asked. "No. They are on to dehydrate those brats and keep them weak. Also, I can end them with a single push of a button. It keeps them in line; that fear of being blown to bits. Now it serves as my insurance. You'll let me go, or I kill them."

"You won't get away with this," Yale said. "And I won't be letting you go."

"You sound like a cheap movie script," the man retorted. "Unfortunately for you, this isn't a cheap movie. I'll be getting out of here. If you're lucky it'll be without those brats."

"You have no way to escape," Yale said.

"True," the man said. "You did destroy my chopper. Yet, there are so many cars and transports in this factory. I just need to sacrifice a few pawns to make my escape in one of them."

The two stood in silence for a moment. Yale didn't move his rifle from being aimed at the man. He was aiming for non-lethal points, but he couldn't guarantee hitting those spots with his rifle. He debated using his semblance, but the charge time was too long. He considered his knife. Every plan needed to happen faster than the man could push the trigger. He wished Nick was here and they could do a two man plan.

"Oh," the man said, interrupting Yale's planning. "Another boy is in that room. Maybe I should blow it up now?"

Yale looked back at the security feed. Ember had stepped into the boiler room and was discussing something with Brass. He gestured to the boilers and then back at the exit he came through. Yale wished he could scream at them to get out of there.

"You wouldn't," Yale hissed.

"You're not moving," the man ordered. "You are the only thing between me and escape. You also fail to see your situation. You are one button away from failing your mission and losing two team members. So then… Move! Out! Of! My! Way!"

"No," Yale said firmly. "You wouldn't sacrifice your only leverage."

"Try me," the man said.

Yale saw the man's thumb move so slightly. He realized in that instant he'd misjudged his opponent. He was putting up an act to control the conversation, just like Yale. Neither had believed themselves in control of the situation. This man, however, was more afraid than Yale. He only just saw the fear in his eyes. He was willing to risk his leverage for whatever distraction it might buy him.

Time all but stopped for Yale. He prepared to throw his knife. It was a last ditch effort. If he could hit the detonator it might not send the signal or it might fall out of the man's hand. It took a fraction of a second for Yale to aim his throw as it was an instinctive motion. The knife was airborne as the man pushed the button. Yale had hesitated that split second to ensure his throw, and it was a second too much.

A blast rocked the factory, and a bright flash illuminated everything beyond the window to the side of Yale. The knife was still going though. The blast knocked the man off his balance, throwing him towards the desk. He grabbed it and looked up at his opponent. Yale's eyes widened as he saw his knife seemingly float to its destination. The man's eyes looked at Yale, but focused on the knife headed straight for him.

The knife struck the man right between the eyes. It was horrible as Yale watched this unfold at an impossibly slow speed. The look in the man's eyes showed he hadn't even fully realized what had happened. Then time caught up to Yale and the man fell backwards behind the desk. Yale stood stalk still for a second as blasts rung out around him. The boiler explosion had also set off the generators. One by one the factory was being blown sky high.

Yale darted around the desk over to the man. He looked him over and knew the man was dead. He still picked the man's head up. Tears began to flow down his face.

"No, no, no," he repeated to himself. "I didn't… no, no, no… NO!"

Blasts rocked the building, but Yale didn't notice them. He was trying to convince himself he hadn't killed this man. His body shook as he grappled with reality. He suddenly felt a hand grab his should and another grab his chin. The hand spun his face to look at its owner. Kneeling next to Yale was Nick.

"YALE!" He screamed.

"Uh…" Yale managed.

"We have to go," Nick pleaded. "This place is going up in flames."

"I didn't… I didn't mean…" Yale said.

"I know," Nick said. "What ever happened I know you didn't mean it. But if you don't move you'll die here."

Yale didn't move. He heard Nick and understood what he was saying. He still couldn't find himself moving. The danger was beginning to become real to him, but it was still distant.

"I'm not leaving you," Nick stated.

Everything snapped to Yale in that instant. If he died, so would Nick. He couldn't let anyone, no, not Nick. He couldn't let Nick die because of him.

"Yeah," Yale managed. "We need… We need to go."

Yale abandoned the man to the floor and grabbed his rifle. The two got up and rushed out of the factory. The blasts rocked the ground but the two managed to avoid the debris it shook loose. The escaped the building and just ran. Nick was saying he knew where the Bullhead was supposed to be as he led Yale through the forest. They reached a clearing and saw Brass yelling at Midnight.

The fight ended the second Brass saw them. He helped them onto the Bullhead which took off immediately. Yale looked back at the forest below to see the factory burning and small specks scattering. A faint engine sound could be heard as they started the transports. Yale suddenly felt exhausted and fell asleep before he even realized.


	11. Shock

That couldn't have gone worse. That away mission started as one hell and ended as another. Brass looked out of the infirmary window. The Bullhead had flown a b-line to the nearest settlement. Brass thought back to what had happened. It was a blur as he thought about it, an effect of events driven by adrenaline.

He remembered talking to Ember about how things were taking longer than he'd expected. Then his instincts screamed to protect the kids. He didn't hesitate and shielded them in a ball of earth. It wasn't well made nor was it fully formed when the room exploded. That's when things became a blur. He recalled one of the kids lightly slapping him awake, getting out of the warehouse with Ember on his back, and then being at the Bullhead.

He cupped his face in his hands trying to recall more details. He could only remember his sense of panic and concern for the kids. Thanks to his wall he saved them from the blast; most of them at least. Some of the kids had been seriously injured and he was waiting for updates on their condition.

"Mr. Stark?" a soft voice asked to his left.

Brass turned to see one of the nurses standing there. Brass looked her in the eye and knew she had good news.

"Everyone is recovering," she updated him. "The kids you brought in, while one was touch and go, they'll all make a full recovery. As for your friend Ember, he'll have some scars but nothing more."

"Thank you," Brass said. "Can I visit them? I feel useless in this bed."

"Yes," the nurse said. "You may visit all the other patients at this time."

Brass didn't hesitate. He shifted himself out of his bed and shuffled out of his room. It had been almost a full day since they got here. Brass had tried to visit his team earlier but had been cut off by staff insisting he and his team gets rest. He obliged after much persuasion.

He went to check on Ember first. He was just next to Brass on the right form where Brass was. The hospital in this settlement was small but busy. It was only because they were Huntsmen with an official Huntress that they were seen to immediately. Brass hoped they would be in and out so the hospital could see its regular patients accordingly.

"Oi, chief!" Brass announced as he burst into Ember's room.

He saw a bandaged Ember look back at him from his bed. Ember half smiled at his teammate. The bandages covered the right side of his face down past his eye. He had other bandages wrapped around that vanished beneath his gown.

"Hey, I see you're up and moving," Ember said. "I probably won't for a day or two."

"Huh?" Brass said. "Why are you always getting so injured? What? Couldn't handle the heat?"

"It was an explosion," Ember clarified. "Besides, Doctors say I'll just have some scarring here."

Ember gestured to the bandaged side of his face. Brass hid a frown. He was upset his leader had taken such a beating. It was his judgement call that led Ember to have been hurt. He'd do it again, but it still hurt.

"Hey," Ember said, "You made the right call."

"Yeah I did," Brass said.

"Don't feel sorry for me," Ember scolded. "I see it behind your eyes. These scars go great with my name. Burn scars and the name 'Ember.' It's absolutely perfect."

Brass smiled at these comments.

"Hey, I need a favor," Ember said.

"Sure, what is it?" Brass said. "But I won't scratch anything for you."

"No," Ember said. "Nothing like that. I need you to help me into a wheel chair and get me to Yale."

"Oh," Brass said, recalling what he'd heard had happened from Midnight. "Why?"

"He needs his leader," Ember said, "he's definitely going through some stuff."

Brass went and got Ember a wheel chair from some of the staff. As he reentered Ember's room he saw the wounds his leader had sustained. The bandages wrapped around his back and down his legs. His arms were bandaged as well. Even from the other side of the room the distortions from the fresh burns were visible.

"I burned my feet," Ember said. "You know, the feet are some of the most sensitive places on the body. Thing is, I don't feel them at all. Really shows how many chemicals I'm on."

Ember turned and gave Brass a huge smile. He wheeled the chair around and helped his chief into the seat. Ember didn't wince once as Brass carefully moved his burned body.

"You know where Yale is?" Ember asked.

"Yeah," Brass said.

He pushed his chief down the hall to the left. Yale was only three doors down. It was funny, for an instant, as Brass realized they'd been ordered Ember, Brass, Nick, and Yale. It was their team order exactly. He guessed Midnight had some odd hand in that.

He wheeled Ember into Yale's room. Already sitting inside was Nick. He was sitting quietly in a visitors chair next to Yale's bed. Yale was sitting up, with the assistance of his bed, starring out the window. All that was out the window was a small wall and beyond that was the forest of Grimm.

"Hey, Yale," Ember said slowly.

Yale turned to look at Ember. His eyes were distant and seemed to not even recognize his leader. It unnerved Brass to see his teammate like this.

"Hey," Yale replied softly.

"I'm sorry," Ember said.

"About?" Yale asked.

"I know what happened," Ember continued, "at least, what you've told us so far."

"Oh," Yale returned. "It wasn't your fault. I… I made a mistake. I… I…"

"No," Ember cut him off. "You made a judgement call."

"I killed him," Yale argued. "I killed him. He's… dead, because of me."

"And who do you plan to blame for that?" Ember asked.

"What?" Yale asked.

"Are you going to blame yourself for killing him?" Ember asked. "Or are you going to accept you killed him. Are you going to understand the burden or reel from it?"

"There's no difference," Yale responded.

"There is," Ember said. "We don't react like this when killing a Grimm – "

"THIS WASN'T A GRIMM!" Yale screamed.

Brass and Nick reacted as though they'd been slapped. They'd known Yale for about half a year at this point and neither had ever heard him raise his voice. Ember hadn't flinched at the outburst. His eyes stayed locked on his teammate.

"I killed a living, breathing, human," Yale continued more subdued. "He won't come back. His family will never see him again. Everyone who cared for him… I took that from them. I don't have the right to do that."

"No one does," Ember agreed. "However, as Huntsmen we will be called to do things we shouldn't. We don't get to follow the rules. We aren't people, we are glorified killers. That is only because we kill to protect those unable to protect themselves."

"I'm not," Yale said. "I'm… I'm…"

"Someone teetering on the edge," Ember said. "You killed a man, yes. You cannot undo that. However, because you killed him he won't be kidnapping anymore children. You have to ask yourself, was that worth it? Was that right?"

"It isn't that simple," Yale pleaded. "I can't just decide what is worth someone else's life."

"Then let this be a reminder," Brass interjected. "No good, even for children, is worth taking another's life. You can remember today as the day you vowed to never kill again. That man will save you from yourself."

Yale starred at brass for a few seconds. Tears began to well up in his eyes. He didn't brush them away. He sniffled and let them roll down his cheek.

"I will never forget this man," Yale said.

"Catharsis," Midnight said, suddenly appearing in the room. "Always good, but you don't even really know his name. Also, speaking from experience, you won't always have the luxury of mercy."

"Midnight, get out of here," Ember said.

"So rude, and to your teacher," Midnight returned sarcastically.

"He doesn't need this," Ember said.

"What, can't us killers all be friends?" Midnight joked.

"Mission's over," Nick said. "We don't need you anymore."

"My, my, my," Midnight said. "This is just a room of bad asses."

"Please leave," Yale asked.

"What, or you'll kill me?" Midnight said, with a laugh.

"Midnight!" Ember said.

When her laughter subsided, she said to Ember, "No, you're far more likely to do that."

With that Midnight left the room. Everyone sat silently for a moment. Brass really wanted to know what Midnight meant. He hesitated to ask because he'd felt an immeasurable dread when Midnight made the comment. Brass's instincts had screamed to get out of the way of something, but nothing had happened.

"Ember?" Yale ventured.

Brass could feel the tension in the air as Yale tried to ask what everyone wanted to know. He looked down at the half broken leader in the wheel chair. He wasn't afraid, but his gut told him his earlier dread was the cause of this tiny person.

"I don't want to talk about it," Ember returned.

"Will you ever?" Nick asked.

Ember looked up with dead eyes as he said, "No."

Brass saw him holding his left arm tightly with his free hand. He wasn't sure if Ember realized it so he didn't say anything.

"I need to rest," Ember said. "Midnight is… a lot to handle. Brass, if you would please?"

"Sure," Brass said.

He took his leader back to his room and helped him back into his bed. Ember thanked him and fell asleep. Brass left the room but looked back at his leader as he went through the door. There was no way that Ember was a killer. If he was, it had to be similar to what Yale experienced. He knew it.


End file.
